Inspirational quotes?
February 2, 2023 6:40 PM Subscribe
I’m doing a postcard project in my letterpress class, and we need to come to class with inspirational quote ideas. I’m hoping MeFi has some awesome inspiration quotes to share.
"People are no damned good" is my favourite.
Maybe that's not quite what you were looking for, but I use it to remind myself not to judge people because they can't really help it.
posted by dg at 7:02 PM on February 2, 2023
Maybe that's not quite what you were looking for, but I use it to remind myself not to judge people because they can't really help it.
posted by dg at 7:02 PM on February 2, 2023
Can it be a little jokey?
"To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first
And, whatever you hit, call it the target." - Ashleigh Brilliant
posted by rouftop at 7:02 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
"To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first
And, whatever you hit, call it the target." - Ashleigh Brilliant
posted by rouftop at 7:02 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
"There's only one rule that I know of, babies -- 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'"
- Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:08 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
- Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:08 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
Two of my favourites:
"Wherever you are is the entry point." [Kabir ]
"Always obey your superiors, if you have any." [Mark Twain]
posted by rpfields at 7:43 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
"Wherever you are is the entry point." [Kabir ]
"Always obey your superiors, if you have any." [Mark Twain]
posted by rpfields at 7:43 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
Nevertheless, she persisted
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:50 PM on February 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:50 PM on February 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
GK Chesterton can be problematic, but I like “anything worth doing is worth doing badly” as a spur to get started on something daunting.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:51 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 7:51 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
Give the ones you love
Wings to fly
Roots to come back to
And reasons to stay
Dalai Lama
I collect quotes I like on a Pinterest board, it's here if you want to see if anything grabs your fancy.
posted by BoscosMom at 7:55 PM on February 2, 2023 [7 favorites]
Wings to fly
Roots to come back to
And reasons to stay
Dalai Lama
I collect quotes I like on a Pinterest board, it's here if you want to see if anything grabs your fancy.
posted by BoscosMom at 7:55 PM on February 2, 2023 [7 favorites]
If being hard on yourself worked, it would have worked by now.
posted by missjenny at 8:08 PM on February 2, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by missjenny at 8:08 PM on February 2, 2023 [8 favorites]
For calligraphy class, I chose Issa's
The man pulling radishes
Pointed my way
With a radish
Basically-- a sideways vote for haiku if, like me, you are not overfond of inspirational quotes.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:13 PM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
The man pulling radishes
Pointed my way
With a radish
Basically-- a sideways vote for haiku if, like me, you are not overfond of inspirational quotes.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:13 PM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Maybe too long to typeset:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
posted by sindark at 8:29 PM on February 2, 2023
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
posted by sindark at 8:29 PM on February 2, 2023
This, from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is one of my favourites.
posted by kate4914 at 8:34 PM on February 2, 2023
posted by kate4914 at 8:34 PM on February 2, 2023
I’m so lucky I worked hard.
One day you’ll look back, and it’ll just hurt your neck.
It’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to.
The most valuable antiques are old friends.
posted by artdrectr at 8:43 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
One day you’ll look back, and it’ll just hurt your neck.
It’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to.
The most valuable antiques are old friends.
posted by artdrectr at 8:43 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
Thich Nhat Hanh’s most powerful meditation: I have arrived, I am home.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:51 PM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:51 PM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
(Or, with joyful license, and since it is a postcard, after all: You have arrived, you are home.)
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:52 PM on February 2, 2023
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:52 PM on February 2, 2023
May our children know
their names are gifts
they can return
if they don’t fit.
-Andrea Gibson
And then the day came when the risk to remain tight,
in a bud, was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
– Elizabeth Appell
posted by xedrik at 10:02 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
their names are gifts
they can return
if they don’t fit.
-Andrea Gibson
And then the day came when the risk to remain tight,
in a bud, was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
– Elizabeth Appell
posted by xedrik at 10:02 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
In an age of performative cruelty, kindness is punk as fuck.
Be punk as fuck.
-Daniel Abraham
posted by xedrik at 10:09 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
Be punk as fuck.
-Daniel Abraham
posted by xedrik at 10:09 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
“Don’t stop when the hell comes”
posted by alchemist at 10:29 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by alchemist at 10:29 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
Everything changes. You can make
A fresh start with your final breath.
-- Bertolt Brecht
posted by wjm at 11:57 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
A fresh start with your final breath.
-- Bertolt Brecht
posted by wjm at 11:57 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
If you're getting flak, you're over the target
Origin:
Second World War, American daylight bombing campaign, Germany. Flak is a type of anti-aircraft fire.
Meaning:
If your assertion/opinion/point of view evokes hostility, it's probably accurate.
posted by trevor_case at 12:47 AM on February 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Origin:
Second World War, American daylight bombing campaign, Germany. Flak is a type of anti-aircraft fire.
Meaning:
If your assertion/opinion/point of view evokes hostility, it's probably accurate.
posted by trevor_case at 12:47 AM on February 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Wear your galoshes to the dance. -The otter lady w/Sudowrite
Nothing is worth more than this day. -Goethe
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive. To breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. -Marcus Aurelius
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? -George Eliot
posted by headnsouth at 3:22 AM on February 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Nothing is worth more than this day. -Goethe
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive. To breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. -Marcus Aurelius
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? -George Eliot
posted by headnsouth at 3:22 AM on February 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Pëtr Kropotkin – The Conquest of Bread:
In the same way, those who man the lifeboat do not ask credentials from the crew of a sinking ship; they launch their boat, risk their lives in the raging waves, and sometimes perish, all to save men whom they do not even know. And what need to know them? “They are human beings, and they need our aid — that is enough, that establishes their right — To the rescue!"
posted by Joeruckus at 4:55 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
In the same way, those who man the lifeboat do not ask credentials from the crew of a sinking ship; they launch their boat, risk their lives in the raging waves, and sometimes perish, all to save men whom they do not even know. And what need to know them? “They are human beings, and they need our aid — that is enough, that establishes their right — To the rescue!"
posted by Joeruckus at 4:55 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
"We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they would be easy." --Unkown
"'Shut up,' he explained." --Ring Lardner
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again." -- HRH Queen Elizabeth II
"True liberty consists in the privilege of enjoying our own rights, not in the destruction of the rights of others." Author: George Pinckard. Notes: (1768 - 1835)
"It’s by observing the young, indeed, that you eventually understand the sort of idiot you yourself were once upon a time — and perhaps still are." -- Arthur Miller, "On Turning Eighty"
"One can fight evil but against stupidity one is helpless... I have accepted the fact, hard as it may be, that human beings are inclined to behave in ways that would make animals blush. " -- Arthur Miller, "On Turning Eighty"
"You can drink to make good times great, but never drink to try and make bad times good." --Unknown
"Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." --Jack Layton
posted by wenestvedt at 6:22 AM on February 3, 2023
"'Shut up,' he explained." --Ring Lardner
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again." -- HRH Queen Elizabeth II
"True liberty consists in the privilege of enjoying our own rights, not in the destruction of the rights of others." Author: George Pinckard. Notes: (1768 - 1835)
"It’s by observing the young, indeed, that you eventually understand the sort of idiot you yourself were once upon a time — and perhaps still are." -- Arthur Miller, "On Turning Eighty"
"One can fight evil but against stupidity one is helpless... I have accepted the fact, hard as it may be, that human beings are inclined to behave in ways that would make animals blush. " -- Arthur Miller, "On Turning Eighty"
"You can drink to make good times great, but never drink to try and make bad times good." --Unknown
"Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." --Jack Layton
posted by wenestvedt at 6:22 AM on February 3, 2023
"Your value doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth".
" Keep your head UP and keep your heart STRONG"
"Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner" --Lao Tzu
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall
“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ― Rumi
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
― Rumi
“You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.”
― C. JoyBell C.
“ We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world "—Jack Gilbert
“Self-love is an act of holy disruption. To love yourself in a world that profits directly from your self-loathing is the ultimate subversion of all that seeks to keep you tame.” --Jeanette Leblanc
I go through these 100 inspirational and motivational quotes almost every day.
Another one of my favorite daily read is inspiration peek
posted by SunPower at 6:56 AM on February 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
" Keep your head UP and keep your heart STRONG"
"Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner" --Lao Tzu
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall
“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ― Rumi
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
― Rumi
“You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.”
― C. JoyBell C.
“ We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world "—Jack Gilbert
“Self-love is an act of holy disruption. To love yourself in a world that profits directly from your self-loathing is the ultimate subversion of all that seeks to keep you tame.” --Jeanette Leblanc
I go through these 100 inspirational and motivational quotes almost every day.
Another one of my favorite daily read is inspiration peek
posted by SunPower at 6:56 AM on February 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love." - Carl Sagan, from his novel Contact
posted by guessthis at 7:46 AM on February 3, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by guessthis at 7:46 AM on February 3, 2023 [3 favorites]
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
posted by momus_window at 8:31 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by momus_window at 8:31 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." - Carl Sagan
posted by brundlefly at 7:51 AM on February 5, 2023
posted by brundlefly at 7:51 AM on February 5, 2023
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Ursula K. Le Guin, Tehanu.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:01 PM on February 2, 2023 [2 favorites]