But that's typical of me. "This is going to end in tears," I tell myself every time I balance a cup of coffee on the upholstered arm of the chair I'm sitting on. And then, lo and behold, the cup topples and even before it lands, I tell myself, "Told me so!" Not to spell out, or spill out, one of the metaphors of my life, but I always do the stupid thing and then I do it again. I never learn. ~Patricia Marx
#quotes #patricia-marx #weeping #stupidity

I think to an extent every human being needs to be redeemed somewhat or at least needs to look at themselves and say, "I've made mistakes, I'm off course, I need to change." Which is probably the hardest thing for a human being to do, and maybe that's why it interests me so. ~Joss Whedon
#quotes #joss-whedon #thinking #mistakes #change

A proverb is an ornament to language. ~Persian Proverb
#quotes #persian-proverbs #language

In time of test, family is best. ~Burmese Proverb
#proverbs #burmese-proverbs #family #hardship

You think you are prepared. You think you have done everything you're supposed to, study hard, work hard, keep yourself out of trouble, and then, whoosh! Something arrives out of the blue that you never saw coming. Something you never even imagined. Something that will knock your little world off its axis. Something that will either change your life for the better, or end it forever. Chaos. ~James Michael
#quotes #james-michael

A world of few choices, whether in jeans or mates, is a world in which individual differences become sources of alienation, unhappiness, even self-loathing. If no jeans fit, you'll feel uncomfortable or inferior. If no housing developments reflect your taste for unique architecture, you'll write screeds against philistine mass culture. ~Virginia Postrel
#quotes #virginia-postrel #jeans #society

The problem I have with socialist utopias is there's some kind of committees trying to soften outcomes for people. I think that imposes models of outcomes for other people's lives. So in a spiritual sense there's some bit of libertarian in me. But the critical thing for me is moderation. And if you let that go far you do end up with a winner-take-all society that ultimately crushes everybody even worse. ~Jaron Lanier
#quotes #jaron-lanier #thinking #society #socialism

Take the sum of human achievement in action, in science, in art, in literature subtract the work of the men above forty, and while we should miss great treasures, even priceless treasures, we would practically be where we are today. The effective, moving, vitalizing work of the world is done between the ages of twenty-five and forty. ~William Osler
#quotes #william-osler #human #achievement

I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by way of concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any conditions, even the most miserable ones. And I thought that if the point were demonstrated in a situation as extreme as that in a concentration camp, my book might gain a hearing. I therefore felt responsible for writing down what I had gone through, for I thought it might be helpful to people who are prone to despair. ~Viktor E. Frankl
#quotes #viktor-e-frankl #life #books #writing

In every head is some wisdom. ~Arabic Proverb
#proverbs #arabic-proverbs #wisdom

A man is not honest simply because he never had a chance to steal. ~Yiddish Proverb
#proverbs #yiddish-proverbs #honesty

Don't imitate the fly before you have wings. ~French Proverb
#proverbs #french-proverbs

A lock is better than suspicion. ~Irish Proverb
#proverbs #irish-proverbs

Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: do not drink, answer him: I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to. ~Martin Luther
#quotes #martin-luther #evil #alcohol

Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. ~German Proverb
#proverbs #german-proverbs #fear

As tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I've seen your passion and I've seen your service. I've seen you engage and I've seen you turn out in record numbers. I've heard your voices amplified by creativity and a digital fluency that those of us in older generations can barely comprehend. I've seen a generation eager, impatient even, to step into the rushing waters of history and change its course. ~Barack Obama
#quotes #barack-obama #politics

There will be many times in your lives; at school, and more particularly when you are a grown up; when people will distract or divert you from what needs to be done. You may even welcome the distraction. But if you use it as an excuse for not doing what you suppose to do, you can blame no one but yourself. If you truly wish to accomplish something, you should allow nothing to stop you, and chances are you'll succeed. ~Julie Andrews
#quotes #julie-andrews #action #distraction

All the seven deadly sins are self destroying, morbid appetites, but in their early stages at least, lust and gluttony, averice and sloth know some gratification, while anger and pride have power, even though that power eventually destroys itself. Envy is impotent, numbed with fear, never ceasing in its appetite, and it knows no gratification, but endless self torment. It has the ugliness of a trapped rat, which gnaws its own foot in an effort to escape. ~Angus Wilson
#quotes #angus-wilson #pride #sin

I am defeated all the time, yet to victory I am born. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
#quotes #ralph-waldo-emerson #success #failure

I held hands with her all the time; that doesn't sound like much, I realize, but she was terrific to hold hands with. Most girls if you hold hands with them, their goddam hand dies on you, or else they think they have to keep moving their hand all the time, as if they were afraid they'd bore you or something. Jane was different. We'd get into a goddam movie or something, and right away we'd start holding hands, and we wouldn't quit till the movie was over. And without changing the position or making a big deal out of it. You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy. You really were. ~J. D. Salinger
#quotes #j-d-salinger #love #hands

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. ~Japanese Proverb
#proverbs #japanese-proverbs #tea #truth

Fortune is a woman; if you neglect her today do not expect to regain her tomorrow. ~French Proverb
#proverbs #french-proverbs #fortune

It is not economical to go to bed early to save candles if the result is twins. ~Chinese Proverb
#proverbs #chinese-proverbs

If the knitter is weary the baby will have no new bonnet. ~Irish Proverb
#proverbs #irish-proverbs

A table is not blessed if it has fed no scholars. ~Yiddish Proverb
#proverbs #yiddish-proverbs