I enjoy quotes very much…here are some that have inspired the Year of Giving. If you have a favorite quote, I encourage you to share it here.
Happiness [is] only real when shared. -Christopher McCandless
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson
The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. -Mitch Albom
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. -Winston Churchill
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Almost everyone – regardless of income, available time, age, and skills-can do something useful for others and, in the process, strengthen the fabric of our shared humanity. -William J. Clinton
We are not here merely to make a living. We are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. We are here to enrich the world, and we impoverish ourselves if we forget the errand. -Woodrow Wilson
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can
In all the ways you can, in all the places you can
To all the people you can, as long as you ever can. -The Kindness Prayer
The best use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. -William James
From now on, any definition of a successful life must include serving others. – George H. W. Bush
You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. – Albert Schweitzer
One of my favorite quotes I’ll share which is in keeping with this adventure:
“A man should be upright, not be kept upright.” -Marcus Aurelius
To serve others is our greatest blessing
I’ve been most recently sharing an Arab quote: “If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.”
“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” -Albert Einstein
“They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing” – A Hindu proverb
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”
Matthew 6:1-4
One of my own….”Have Integrity in Everything you Do”.
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”- Howard Thurman
I was touched by this:
“We might live in dirt but we are not dirt.”
“Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of the truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant.”
Edgar Allan Poe
“A life lived for others ,is the only life worth living”-also Albert Einstein
We need to be thankful for what we have and what we recieve.
I think this is an important quote, I heard it recently:
“God gives and forgives. Man gets and forgets.”
Also, the amount that we give does not matter, it is the intention that matters.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Save yourself from hellfire by giving even half a date-fruit in charity.”
He also said: “Actions are (judged) by intentions, so every man will have what he intended. “
The quote that I live by came from a good friend of mine :
“If there is one thing I believe in, it is that we are put on this rock to help others. There is no greater good than that.”
–Keith Falk
Here’s one of my favorites: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle.” – Plato
“A job half completed is a job not done” Pass on all that you can so that those that follow us, will have history, not just a memory.
“Do all the good you can,By all the means you can,In all the ways you can,In all the places you can,At all the times you can,To all the people you can,As long as ever you can.”
-John Wesley
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” – Mother Teresa
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”- Albert Pine
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”- Jesus Christ (John 15:13)
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke6:38
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 19:17
“If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab our own problems back”
“Friends are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom”.
“One thousand years from now, it will not matter the size of the house you lived in, or the type of car you drove; but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child”. – anonymous
To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. -Emerson
Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
– unknown
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. -anonymous
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -Buddha
“The only time you should look down on someone is if your helping them up.”
Not sure who this originally came from
Jesse Jackson
I wrote that saying in the late 90s…used it as my signature on various message boards like this one…flattered Jesse used a form of it.
My favorite when my 8 year old was diagnosed with cancer was,
“If you need something, ask God. If you don’t need anything, thank God.” My son is now 23 years old!
“Take the first step. You don’t have to see the whole staircase to take the first step.”
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
And:
“You can’t help what others do, you can only help what you do.”
–I’m not sure who said this/Buddhist saying
TO Erin:
Your post at bottom read: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. -Buddha
Buddha did not say this quote. Mahatma Gandi did. It goes like this:
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 – 1948)
A sorrow shared is half a sorrow. A joy shared is twice a joy.
Here’s my own personal quote, for when dealing with people:
Logic, when apply to people, fails miserably!
“Sometimes the best form of transport is a leap of faith.”
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
This quote makes me think of your project:
“We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to ‘find’ ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!”
P.S. I think what you’re doing is amazing. Good luck in the coming year.
Friends are the gloves God wears to touch us ~Rumi
& I don’t know the author of this quote but I think it’s relevant:
No one cares how much you know until they know how much
you care.
2 of my favorite quotes
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” –Eleanore Roosevelt
” The highest of distinctions is that of service to others”
One of my favorite quotes is: “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
One of my quotes, “Only by opening your heart to others can you find out who you really are. ” –
Here’s one of my favorite qoutes, “There is never a time in our lives when we are left without the ability to give, even if it’s just thanks or respect.” – Azim Al-Sala’m
“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”
Life is short and we have never too much time for
gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling
the dark journey with us . Oh be swift to love ,
make haste to be kind .
Henri – Frederic Amiel
Right is right , even if everyone is against it .
And wrong is wrong , even if everyone is for it .
William Penn
“We Cannot Separate Thought From Feeling, Feeling From Action, Living from Learning– anonymous (it was in my high school year book in 1972)
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye”- Antoine de Saint-Exupery from The Little Prince
“Only as high as you reach can you grow. Only as Far as you seek can you go. Only as deep as you look can you see. Only as much as you dream can you be”.– Karen Ravn
Look deep into nature,
and then you will understand
everything better.
— Einstein
We do not inherit the earth
from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
–Native American Proverb
“God is not looking for your ablilites, but your availability”
“As you sow, so you shall reap”
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” -Muhammad Ali
“The problems of the world cannot possible be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.” – unknown
“Compassion is your pain in my heart.” unknown
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”
(Proverbs 27:17, NIV)
Good people will be remembered as a blessing.
Proverbs ?
This is one of my favorites :
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“The quality of one’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence regardless of their chosen field of endeaver” Vince Lombardi
I like this because your profession doesnt define who you are as a person and doesnt dictate what a success you think you are -your character does!
Those who can, should, for those who can’t or won’t.
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” William Shakespeare
Most of us would agree that giving $10 is a relatively small thing. “Be faithful in small things, and I will trust you with greater.” Jesus Christ, Matt. 25:21
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” Betty Reese
“The definition of success–To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one’s self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived–this is to have succeeded”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Laura, this is one of my favorites. After reading this in 2007 I decided to make some changes in my own life to align myself more with Emerson’s vision of success. Thanks for sharing! -Reed
“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures-CHARACTER.” Horace Greely.
Drop a pebble in the water:
just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples
Circling on and on and on…
James Foley
“What lies ahead and what lies behind are tiny matters, compared to what lies within.” (Emerson)
Hi Reed… thanks for all that you do!! I like quotes, too. Here’s on:
“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.”
Tony Robbins
“Preach the gospel daily and if you must use words.” St. Francis of Assisi
Live. Laugh. Love. and Dream.
These are the words i live by
A friend made is a road paved; an enemy created is a wall built…..
Salt should not have to announce itself to the stew in order to work its effect.
Go very gently today, for everyone you will meet is carrying an almost intolerable burden. – Michelle Flubert
When you’re interested in what you’re doing – whether it’s running a country newspaper or a grocery store or practicing psychiatry or writing a novel – if it’s not criminal, you’re a successful human, whether your name is household word throughout the land or unknown thirty miles away. – H.B.Fox
“To become humble, you must witness someone highly more meaningful in life than you are. You must take in all that they are and all you are not.” – anonymous
The size of Persona world is the size of his Heart
One of my all time favorite quotes is:
“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world” – Anonymous
“The definition of success–To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one’s self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived–this is to have succeeded”
Reed –
Here are a few of my favorite quotes.
May the long time sun shine upon you
all love surround you
and the pure light within you
guide your way home.
– Sufi chant
Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.
-Stranger in a Strange Land
“We need to forget what we think we are,
so that we can really become what we are.”
– Paulo Coehlo
“People make a lot of effort not to remember, not to accept their immense magical potential.”
– Paulo Coehlo
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
Mother Teresa
The domino effect of giving and caring is what makes this world a bit more smiley…
oh! and check out this weeks KarmaTube by MC Yogi:
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1942
“In the giving – is the getting”
“From the seed of giving – grows a flower of getting”
David Matoc
“And remember my fine friend, the size of your heart is not measured by how much YOU love, but by how much YOU ARE loved by others.” –The Wizard of Oz to The Tin Man after giving him a heart.
Remarkable and courageous….Thank you for inspiring so many. Prayer is action. Thank you for being a”solution” in a world of challenges.
“Working for God in this life may not pay much, but his retirement plan is out of this world!”
“We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” Mark Twain
I love quotes, too! A few of my faves related to serving others are:
Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything. -Bob Pierce
Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. -Sally Koch
There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. -John Andrew Holmes
I think this quote has more to do with life, than sports.
“100% of the shots you don’t take, don’t go in”
-Wayne Gretzky
I wish I said this…
“There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can’t. What you’ve got to do is turn around and say
‘Watch Me’ “.
-Unknown
Real happiness lies in that which never comes nor goes, but simply is.
Author unknown.
Here’s a quote I liked that Helen K. shared with me: “‘Kindness is the evidence of greatness. If anyone is glad that you are here, then you have not lived in vain.’ – Charles Fenno Hoffman
We heard about a story down the road a ways. With luck we’ll come across something more interesting along the way……. The road is bending, I wonder what’s around the bend?
‘Charles Kuralt’ from “ON THE ROAD”
Great quotes!