Lines worth keeping.
Things I read. Things people say. Lines I come across that make me stop for a minute and think.
A commonplace book, more or less
Some of these are mine — things I have written down over the years, usually early in the morning, usually because I did not want to lose the thought. Some are borrowed from people who said it better than I could.
Where I know the source, I have named it. The unsigned ones are mostly mine, though after this many years I would not swear to all of them.
They are grouped loosely, the way I actually think about them.
On going anyway
“Courage comes from the French word for heart, coeur.”
“Don’t play it safe — believe in and commit to living your authentic life.”
“Sometimes ignorance is bliss — there is a thrill to not knowing the outcome.”
“Take a risk a day, even if it is a small one.”
“Where would you go, what would you explore, if there were no limits?”
“It’s not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
“FEAR = false evidence appearing real.”
“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you will discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.”
— Alan Alda
“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”
— André Gide
“Today… set the sails. Pull the anchor. Cast away. Feel the wind at your back. Keep your eyes on the horizon or stay on the shore. But choose.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
“One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar.”
— Helen Keller
“I don’t know when I myself am too pot-bound, lacking the courage to be replanted, to take the shock of new soil, to feel into the unknown and take root in it.”
— Gunilla Norris
- Karle Wilson Baker
On becoming who you already are
“Live your authentic life, not the one you perceive that people expect you to be.”
“Be the leading lady in your own life story — life is not a dress rehearsal. Shine on life’s stage like the leading lady you are.”
“Look for the lanterns that God has lit to illuminate the path to your authentic self.”
“What is it that you seek? Freedom to live your authentic life. Open your eyes to how close you already are, then lean in to the final mile.”
“Take the time to walk through the desert to look for your star, to brood over the authentic person God created you to be.”
“Envision your authentic self, then see her in the mirror. Check in often as you become her.”
“Stop comparing yourself to others. Bless their abundance as well as your own. There is plenty to go around.”
“Know that you are doing your very best, and let the judgements of others not soak in. Let them evaporate into the ether and disappear. Their judgements are a reflection of them, not you.”
“You think you are thinking your thoughts, but you are thinking culture’s thoughts.”
“Regarding clothes: if it’s not authentically you, live without it.”
“When your heart is open to change, you’re able to recognize the personal signals of encouragement that your authentic self is constantly sending, no matter how unlikely the source.”
“Fall in love with yourself.”
“I am what I am, and I am wonderful.”
“It’s never too late to become the woman you were meant to be.”
“Your business is not to remake yourself but to make the absolute best of what God made.”
— Robert Browning
“Until you make peace with who you are, you will never be content with what you have.”
— Doris Mortman
“If one is a greyhound, why try to look like a Pekingese?”
— Dame Edith Sitwell
“We are the hero of our own story.”
— Mary McCarthy
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”
— Judy Garland
“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”
— Coco Chanel
On noticing what is already here
“Simple abundance = gratitude / simplicity / order / harmony / beauty / joy.”
“Remember to count your blessings every day. Keep the eye of your eyes open to see your truly abundant life.”
“Bless where you are today — don’t curse it. Blessings bring more blessings. Bless be today.”
“Seek the joy in all things, big and small, significant and mundane.”
“Seek to find the joy and love in every situation.”
“Look for your acre of diamonds in your own backyard.”
“Relish in the richness of the everyday — slow down to notice the beautiful still lifes, the exotic scents, the abundant energy of the everyday.”
“Relish in the things every day. Don’t take them for granted. We never know how much time we have.”
“Find simple abundance and fulfillment even in the mundane. Just look, and you will find it.”
“If everyday life seems boring, don’t blame it, blame yourself. Get out of your own way and enjoy each day — relish in its simple pleasures.”
“A compliment is worth a thousand pats on the back — be generous with your compliments.”
“We are all more similar than different.”
“Gratitude is the memory of the heart. La reconnaissance est la mémoire du cœur.”
— French proverb
“To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.”
— Samuel Johnson
“It isn’t necessary to do great things, but rather to do small things with great love.”
— Mother Teresa
On what a day is for
“Time — chronos vs. kairos. Savor the kairos time.”
“Procrastination is the threat of time.”
“Time is the most valuable thing we can spend.”
- Theophratus
“Time is like a dressmaker specializing in alterations.”
- Faith Baldwin
“Every day is what you make of it. Each day in and of itself is neither good nor bad — we choose. Make the choice to find good in every day.”
“Every day is a gift — don’t waste a day.”
“Expect something wonderful to happen every day.”
“Let go of the past — it’s the past.”
“Cultivate the habit of ‘being.’”
“So many of the petty things we worry about are not worth the breath they take — remember the ‘moan minute.’”
“Try a different perspective hat on today. Change something up — it will bring you happiness.”
“Stop and think about what brings you joy and happiness.”
“Make happiness a priority — make it a mindset.”
“Honor and lean into the seasons of life. Whether good or bad, seasons always pass.”
“Embrace the journey — don’t fight it, flow with it.”
“If you are upset with your choices, with where your life is at the moment, turn the page.”
“This is the beginning of another simply abundant year. 365 days, 12 months, 4 seasons to continue the path to my authentic self. Ask the questions and be open to receiving the answers.”
“One today is worth two tomorrows; never leave that tomorrow which you can do today.”
— Benjamin Franklin
On listening for it
“Listen for God’s hand and guidance — really listen.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of God and your subconscious mind. Dream the dreams, put in the work, and let God and your conscience take you beyond your hopes and dreams.”
“Expect to receive miracles from God every day. Live in love and acceptance.”
“Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
“Daydreams are divine messages. Let yourself daydream.”
“Let go of limiting illusions and trust God’s path for you.”
“Look for God, and connection to God, in even mundane tasks like making the bed and tidying up.”
“Christmas is all about gifts — love, faith, compassion.”
“Christmas is about the present — being present.”
“If a door slams shut, it means that God is pointing to an open door further on down.”
— Anne Delaney Peale
“God gives us always the strength for everything he wants us to do.”
— John Ruskin
“The soul can split the sky in two and let the face of God shine through.”
— Edna St. Vincent Millay
“If we go down into ourselves we find that we possess exactly what we desire.”
— Simone Weil
“Each of us possesses an exquisite, extraordinary gift: the opportunity to give expression to Divinity on earth through our everyday lives. When we choose to honor this priceless gift, we participate in the re-creation of the world.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
On spending yourself well
“The world needs dreamers who DO.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
“Our aspirations are our possibilities. Leave a little of your old self behind to make space for your aspirations to grow into realities.”
“Success and failure are the yin and yang of the universe. They are in constant opposition. Life is about balancing them.”
“Life is a balance of yin and yang, action and idle — find harmony in everything.”
“Rise to all occasions.”
“Be a ‘how’ thinker, not an ‘if’ thinker.”
“Regarding money — think in terms of abundance and growth, not lack.”
“Financial serenity: as I save more money I am preparing and learning how to manage even more financial abundance.”
“Go beyond the prosperity of money to the prosperity of living.”
“Know what you need versus what you want. When you are clear about what you need, you attract it like a lover.”
“Addictions are a form of self-abuse — let that sink in.”
“It’s a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”
— W. Somerset Maugham
“Every problem contains the seeds of its own solution.”
— Stanley Arnold
“Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.”
— Sarah Bernhardt
“None of us is, individually, indispensable, yet none of us is useless, and the degree of our usefulness depends on our will. If it is sometimes easy to be totally bad, it is always difficult to be totally good; but let us remember that the sincere effort alone counts.”
— Lecomte du Noüy, Human Destiny
“Though the goal is set, the means to attain it are not.”
— Lecomte du Noüy, Human Destiny
“If thou seekest responsibilities, apply thyself to being perfect. If thou takest part in a council, remember that silence is better than an excess of words.”
— Ancient Egyptian instructions to a prince
On the room it takes
“Give yourself time each day to breathe and explore in solitude — whether in meditation, journaling, doodling, or whatever. Let your mind wander toward your authentic self.”
“If it is cluttering your mind, write it down. If it remains, or pops back in, write it down again.”
“Let your mind wander — it will lead you to what you authentically love.”
“Indulge in at least one creative excursion each week to keep walking the path to your authentic self.”
“What is it that you truly love? What do you see that ‘wows’ you, that brings that sense of oh my goodness?”
“Feed your inner goddess. Give her space to grow and shine.”
“Act as if you are a woman with repose of the soul — smile at all you meet, listen intently and genuinely.”
“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has a purpose.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
This collection is not finished
I am still writing them down. When something stops me for a minute, it lands here. Add it to whichever group it belongs to, or start a new one.
There is more to me than fits neatly into five boxes.
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