Quotes ... don't we just love 'em! They say so much, and often with such style and wisdom. We hear a particularly wise quotation and we wish we'd been clever enough to say such a thing, but surely that's what makes them special – that it took someone special, or extraordinary, or with such perspicacity and clarity of thought, to come up with it originally. We can't always remember just who said what, of course, but the essence of what was said strikes a chord for each one of us, and we can't forget that.
QUOTES GO ON FOR GENERATIONS
A quote that resonates with many can live on for generations, maybe even centuries. And apart from what the quote tells us overtly, it speaks also of how people don't change very much at all, not when it comes to the essentials anyway, even over a span of a thousand years or more.
A quote can be wise and insightful, but more than that, it can be uplifting and inspirational. It can lighten the load and sometimes it can lighten the mood. It can be instructive and incisive, and give you that little bit of much-needed advice and encouragement just when the need is greatest. It can help you see a situation from a different standpoint. It can make you realise just how precious and delicate life is, and remind you to savour every precious, fleeting moment of it.
One of the shortest and simplest of quotes is Einstein's. He said:
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"THERE ARE TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD. EITHER NOTHING IS A MIRACLE, OR EVERYTHING IS A MIRACLE" |
If you start to look at the world as if everything is a miracle it puts you in a better place instantly. Suddenly your perspective is altered, maybe for ever. It's as though everything starts to shine, as if with an inner glow. Opportunities seem to start springing up all over the place. You see an endless stream of options where before you only saw a minefield of obstacles and trip wires.
A QUOTE CAN CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD
If you make a habit of viewing the world this way, you sometimes find it difficult to suppress a smile, and people might wonder what you find so amusing. Let them wonder! And as for Nature ... where before you might have just seen it as all the random and messy stuff that goes on all around, now you start to see it the way Henry David Thoreau saw it, as a vast, rich, interconnected and interdependent living tapestry that underlies all creation, and you realise that if you inadvertently tug at one strand of it there really is a danger that it might start to unravel every other.
I really hope that reading through these quotations and the comments that go along with them causes you to slow down and spend some time just quietly thinking. There's not enough of that these days, I sometimes feel (although too much of it can be just as bad). And maybe you'll be inspired to rediscover the greatness within, and become more of the truly amazing person you really are.
A QUOTE CAN CHANGE YOU … FOR THE BETTER
Success means different things to different people. But if pondering these quotations means you manage to become a little more tolerant, a little more patient perhaps, more generous, more self- assured, more grateful for life's blessings, or just a little more at peace within yourself, I'll consider the time that went into putting this little book together time well spent, and the book itself a great success.
If you do find it helpful and you'd like to share your thoughts, you can reach me through the contact page on truly-amazing.com or the one on real-memory-improvement.com. I'd love to hear from you, and perhaps add your comments to the book itself or the websites I just mentioned.
LIFE … IS SHORT
I noticed, when I read over this list, that I've included quite a few, a disproportionate number really, on one particular theme – the nature of time, and how brief life really is. This wasn't intentional, but it does betray the fact that these ideas about time are so compelling and occupy the mind to such an extent that the quotes must have been simply jostling with each other for my attention.
Oh, hang on, here's another one, just slipped in now, missed the main book but it was so desperate to be seen that it forced its way in:
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“SHORT AS LIFE IS, WE MAKE IT STILL SHORTER BY THE CARELESS WASTE OF TIME” ~ VICTOR HUGO (1802-1885), FRENCH POET, NOVELIST AND DRAMATIST, BEST KNOWN FOR 'THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME' AND 'LES MISERABLES'. |
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'EXTRA' QUOTATIONS
Mmm ... seems no matter what I do these 'extra' quotations keep quietly slipping in. They're persistent, I'll say that for them! Of course, persistence is one of the keystones of success, so I shouldn't really be surprised that inspirational quotations and those dealing with the various aspects of success actually demonstrate a high level of persistence. Makes a bit of a mockery of my title though … 101 quotations … yeah right, and all the rest!
Look, I'll see if I can keep them out, but I think realistically I'll have to resign myself to allowing them to infiltrate the book. It's not very sensible to keep fighting a battle you know you simply cannot win. Discretion being the better part of valour, I'll probably just have to let them be. So if you come across any, just read them and move on. Don't pay them too much heed, it'll only encourage them!
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Now, I know you appreciate quotations (since you're reading this book), and I think it's safe to assume you have an appreciation of the English language too. For that reason I'm including a list of valuable resources at the end. In it you'll find listings of websites that will help you improve your command of the language in all kinds of ways.
Some are aimed squarely at helping you cope with the intricacies of English grammar and the crazy irregularities of English spellings.
Others will help you build your vocabulary, while still more will help you learn and understand English better (if it's not your first language). There are also links to some fascinating resources concerned with learning languages.
If you're a writer, or aspire to be one, there are a few resources in there that you'll no doubt find interesting. Some of them provide lists of useful tools that any writer would value. And if you love reading you'll enjoy the links to some excellent reading lists.
You'll find various other resources listed, all valuable to some extent or other, and aimed at making your quest to improve yourself and your talents more achievable.
COMMENTS
And why the comments? Mmm … good question. Glad you asked. Actually, I feel almost apologetic about including comments – the quotes themselves are neatly self-contained and just about perfect as they are … well, I think so, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen them. The exceptions are the few that are there merely because they're humorous, but there's always space to add a bit of humour, right? So there's really nothing to add, in all honesty. Still, I think it can't do any harm to expand a little on a quote, or suggest a new perspective from which to view it.
Any time a comment makes you stop for a moment and look at the quotation afresh, as if through new eyes, it's done its job. And hopefully some of the comments will do just that … pull you up sharp and make you reconsider what you just read.
Even if you've heard (or read) that particular quote a hundred times before, maybe this time it will seem a little more eloquent, or a little more meaningful. Maybe this time it will resonate a little deeper with you, and make you take stock and reconsider. Maybe the comment will help to make the quotation a little more accessible and of even greater value.
I hope so, anyway.
