Words by Cormac McCarthy

“You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.”
― Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

“How does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?”
― Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

“He said that those who have endured some misfortune will always be set apart but that it is just that misfortune which is their gift and which is their strength.”
― Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

“Every step you take is forever. You can’t make it go away. None of it. You understand what I’m sayin?”
― Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

Living for Today

I sometimes have to remind myself that it doesn’t matter how clean my house is, how manicured the garden is, or how much items we may own.  Any day could be your last and we all need to live life as though you may not wake up tomorrow.  Be happy, fall in love, and live your life…you only get one chance…

“For years I wanted to be older, and now I am.”

-Margaret Atwood

“There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”

-Epictetus

“We are new every day.”

-Irene Claremont Castillego

“Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly.  Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end.  What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind.”

-Henry Miller

Words by Erica Jong

 I first read about Erica Jong when I was in college.  I read her books and found myself torn between hating them, but at the same time, loving them.  Over the years, I have grown to understand (I hope) the meaning behind her writing and have grown to appreciate her role in standing up and supporting women.

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
-Erica Jong

“Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.”
-Erica Jong

“Jealousy is all the fun you think they had.”
-Erica Jong

“The trick is not how much pain you feel–but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses, excuses, excuses.”
-Erica Jong

“Women are their own worst enemies. And guilt is the main weapon of self-torture . . . Show me a woman who doesn’t feel guilty and I’ll show you a man.”
-Erica Jong, Fear of Flying

“We are so scared of being judged that we look for every excuse to procrastinate.”
-Erica Jong

Words from Dr. Seuss

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

-Dr. Seuss

“Only you can control your future.”

-Dr. Seuss

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

-Dr. Seuss

“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”

-Dr. Seuss

Words from Robert Pirsig

 I read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” about seven years ago.  The book is one of my favorite books, even though I literally had to read most pages a few times to grasp the meaning.  Even so, the book has a deep-rooted meaning of life and the pursuit of finding one self.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes.  And if you have some time, I highly recommend this book.  I promise, the book is worth it.

 

“To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.”

-Robert Pirsig

“We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ”

-Robert Pirsig

“Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of social values is right. The social values are right only if the individual values are right. The place to improve the world is first in one’s heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there. ”

-Robert Pirsig

Becoming You

“Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness.  My answer was:  ‘A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.'”

-Eleanor Roosevelt

“There is only one history of any importance and it is the history of what you once believed in, and the history of what you came to believe in.”

-Kay Boyle

“Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant.  It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.”

-Georgia O’Keefe

Living Your Life

“We are given one life, and the decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act, and in acting, to live.”

-Omar Nelson Bradley

“I try to extract something positive from [every] situation, even if it’s just learning not to make the same mistake twice.”

-Claudia Schiffer

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

-Anatole France