Affirmations to Begin Your Day, your week...your life....

Shakespeare says, "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy". Life is sometimes a bit of an enigma, full of contradictions and disappointments. Joys are sometimes found in strange corners. You might find yourself discovering solace in the shade of trees or behind the wheel on an impromptu road trip. If you were to peruse the planet around you and try to accommodate the many perceptions your senses discover in just one day, you can approach fatigue with relative ease. There are so many ideas to understand in nature, figures to calculate in social categories and an entire cathedral of philosophies under an infinite number of stars beyond the solar system.

As one who writes and appreciates letters, I find comfort in language expressed in the written word. And I understand that I am not alone because sites that feature famous quotations, witty insights, quirky quips are quite ubiquitous. Everyone has their favorite types as well: some prefer literary, others are more inclined toward the profane. Some like quotes that feature images of nature like birds. While there are others who seek out the deeper writings that talk about suffering and the nature of the soul.

Then what is actually the purpose of another short article that contains a few quotes that you are either already familiar with or can be easily stumbled upon in a library volume or a computer screen? Certainly that is a good argument. But then again, can't everything you can think of already be found online? Is there anything new under the sun, in your little keyboarded machine in front of you? Of course not. I certainly would like a room of my own however, where I can store my favorite writings to come back to. I used to carry a notebook around and when I came upon a quote from something - usually a literary work - I would go ahead and copy it down. My favorite poems, sayings from a television program that I found noteworthy, references alluded to by professors. in this day and age, when the pen and the paper are nearing extinction, it is very convenient to find a place to keep your writings and with this article, what would have been scribbling twenty years ago, now have some permanence. But what I hope to do with this piece is share a few of my favorite ones and remind myself why they've attracted my preference. What I also hope to do, is share them with you and convince you the same.

I'll start off with a few of my favorite that I came across in a book that was purchased for the facility in which I work. It's called Denial is a River in Egypt byS. Bachom and while it is designed for a specific target audience, most of these quotes are applicable to most situations and anyone in any stage of life. I think if you will read a few of these, you'll find yourself in agreement that these are deep statements that can provide you with a positive philosophy to handle a variety of situations. It's a pretty neat book too with a variety of illustrations and amusing anecdotes, many of which are truly moving.

Procrastinators can be found at the airport waiting for their ships to come in.

Don't waste time thinking about what thinking can't change.

Our perception of what's happening and what's really happening are two completely different things.

To be wronged is nothing unless you insist on remembering it.

Rejection is God's protection.

There is no future in the past.

I don't have to attend any argument I'm invited to.

Never compare your inside to someone else's outside.

Resentment is like letting someone else live rent free inside your head.

Put aside the idea of fairness or unfairness.

It's okay to look back at the past, just don't stare at it.

Let nothing that others do to you alter your treatment of them.

Things aren't necessarily going wrong because they're not going your way.

Fate is what happens to you, destiny is what you do with it.

When you reach bottom, stop digging.

When the horse dies, dismount.

There are two days of the week you should never worry about - yesterday and tomorrow.

The past is history

the future is a mystery

This moment is a gift.

These are just a few of the wise words that I discovered in this book. Just about every quote offered sheds some insight into the frailty of the human condition and provides support on a healthy viewpoint to adopt. Life isn't easy sometimes and hearing the right words can provide comfort and inspiration. We all dwell on things and have worries, but in reality, as said above: you shouldn't worry about yesterday or tomorrow. Live in the moment. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn't promised.

Quotes from literature, although usually full of wisdom, can sometimes be quite verbose. You could quote stanza's of dialogue from a Shakespeare play and convey numerous meanings to a reader's hungry ears and famished heart. There are some however that a brief and to the point and still carry a delicate cuisine.

If music be the food of love, play on...

--Shakespeare

Envy is wanting what someone else has

Jealousy is wanting them to not have it...

--Joey Reynolds

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

--Mark Twain

Just as when you walk you are careful not to step on a nail or injure your foot, you should similarly take the utmost care not to in any way impair the highest faculty of your mind. The virtuous life depends on reason first and foremost. If you safeguard your reason, it will safeguard you.

--Epictetus (translated by S. Lebell)

We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

--Shakespeare

Is better to rule in hell than to serve in Heaven.

--John Milton

Quotations, proverbs or references that reflect ideas about the human condition can come from a variety of sources and definitely be an inspiration. Here are some additional ones I came across and found interesting. I will probably be updating this page occasionally and expanding upon my collection and put them here. So please feel free to check back.

What hath God wrought?

-Samuel Morse (in his first telegraphic message)

Writer's closest companions are inside their heads.

--annelli rufus

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

--Washington Irving

You bring your own atmosphere to the party.

---popular saying

Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words.

Be careful of your words, for your words become your actions.

Be careful of your actions, for your actions become your habits.

Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character.

Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.

— Chinese proverb, author unknown

I understood a fury in your words. But not the words.

--Shakekspeare

I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

- Winston Churchill

Our Perception of what's happening and what's rally happening are two completely different things.

When you are wrong, step forward; when you are right, step back.

You can't think yourself into right action, but you can act yourself into right thinking.

If nothing changes, nothing changes.