This blog in the series offers a variety of quotes inspired by some of life’s greatest challenges. These words come from people who have each experienced numerous and varying trials- from Anne Frank to Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela to Walt Disney.
Challenges and Troubles
‘When you know you are doing your very best within the circumstances of your existence, applaud yourself’- Rusty Berkus
‘When you’re down because you didn’t get what you wanted, just sit tight and be happy because God has thought of something better to give you.’
‘No night but has its morn.’ – J.C.F Schiller
‘There’s no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue,
There’s no joy in merely doing things which any one can do.
But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take,
When you reach a destination that you never thought you’d make.’ – Spirella
‘Kicks only raise dust and not crops from the earth.’ – Tagore
‘Sunshine without rain is a recipe for a desert.’- Arab Proverb
‘But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest courage, the courage to suffer.’ – Viktor E. Frankl
‘I’m no financial adviser, so I can’t tell you how to double your money. But I can tell you how to double your troubles. It’s easy: Brood on them!’ – Anonymous
‘Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.’ – Emily Dickinson
‘Crying is alright in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.’ – C.S Lewis
‘All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.’ – Walt Disney
Courage and Fear
“Without fear there cannot be courage.’ – Christopher Paolini
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.’ – Mary Anne Radmarcher
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”–Winston Churchill
“I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change… I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back….”- Erica Jong
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.’ – Mark Twain
Environment and Nature
‘If you poison the environment, the environment will poison you.’ – Tony Follari
‘Treat the Earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it is loaned to you by your children.’ – Kenyan Proverb
‘We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment.’ – Magaret Mead
‘The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity. As long as that exists, and that should be forever, I know there will be a solace for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances. I firmly believe nature can bring comfort to those who suffer.” – Anne Frank
Death and Sorrow
‘Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.’ – Steve Jobs
‘I think of death as some delightful journey that I shall take when all my tasks are done.’ – Ella W. Wilcox
‘Sorrow is a fruit; God does not allow it to grow on a branch too weak to bear it.’ – Victor Hugo
‘Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.’
‘Death haunts us when viewed as a journey into nothingness; rather than a pilgrimage to the place where true happiness is to be found… Faith gives answers where reason fails, and our strong instinct to live points towards immortality and urges us towards it… Death is not the end of the road, but a gateway to a better place. It is in this place that our noblest aspirations will be realised. It is here that we will understand how our experiences of goodness, love, beauty and joy are realities which exist only in God. It is in heaven that we shall rest in him and our hearts will be restless until they rest in him.” – Cardinal Basil Hume