Some words I live by

May 13, 2014.

Today I thought I'd just share a few of my favorite phrases, quotations, and words that inspire or otherwise excite me.  Some may resonate with you more than others, but I hope you'll learn something by my sharing these with you here.  I pray those who have seen me in my weakest times will understand I always pursue these truths and more even when I do not always succeed.

Life's too short. 
I say this one all the time, along with some version of this: "I heard a breaking news story this morning that apparently we only live once."  I'm a firm believer in the afterlife, and an eternal life in Heaven, but I believe we get tons of time here to work things out for ourselves, and we should be constantly honing our emotional and spiritual intelligence.


Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. --Goethe
So true!  Way too often, we put our focus on our own temporary happiness rather than the good of all people.  And in conjunction with this quotation, there's this one (widely attributed, but I heard it from Dr. Wayne Dyer): "It's better to be nice than to be right."  You can still be right, but be nice first.

Be still and know that I am God. 
I meditate to this phrase almost every day of my life.  I've written about it a lot in my second book, and I'll no doubt write more about it in the future.  It's my favorite mantra, and one I pray all the time.

I spent my thirties fixing all the things I broke in my twenties. --Eddie Murphy
This is one I've used to inspire me throughout the past decade.  I didn't break a whole lot in my twenties, but the quotation has helped me put things in perspective big time.

It's funny how the people who tell you you're too sensitive are always the same ones who are the most insensitive to you.
Not much else to say except I fully endorse this truth.  You cannot scold someone for being too sensitive while you yourself are being insensitive. 

We only do well what we do with joy. -Saint Thomas Aquinas
Amen!  My greatest accomplishments have always begun with joy!

All things, taken one by one, are good, and all things, taken together, are very good.  For our God has made all things very good. --Saint Augustine
When I first read this quotation in college, I stood up immediately and walked outside.  I repeated it several times to fully grasp what he was saying.  And then I literally jumped for joy!  It was one of the greatest ah-ha moments I've ever experienced.

There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. --Alfred Korzybski
Talk about a mantra for my life!  I've always found myself in this huge no-man's land between hyper-religious folk and hyper-unreligious folk.  Neither group seems to like me very much, because I believe in a balanced understanding of all things.  I believe in God, but I don't believe in forcing God on people.  I believe in the right to life, but I also believe in a woman's right to choose. 

I believe most people are trying to do the right thing, and most people mean well.  Hate isn't a virtue I espouse, but giving people time to nicely express the struggles of their soul on a given topic is always something I'm open to.  We get nowhere with yelling.  We can get always somewhere with calm, open, loving dialogue.

What the hell's wrong with expressing yourself, for wanting to be me? --Billy Elliot The Musical, lyrics by Lee Hall

Be yourself!  Be you! 

I have discovered that all of man's misfortunes come from a single source; mainly that he is incapable of staying still in his room. --Blaise Pascal
I can't say Pascal could be proven right in every circumstance every time, but I believe he was onto something here.  The Buddhists have it right.  I need to start building a temple in my backyard.  In the mean time, giving myself some quiet alone time every day is a great start!