Helpful Quote/Proverb

[John Howard]

I dont know about y'all (that's a Word down here) but I get a lot of good out of quotes and proverbs. I was raised on Proverbs .... about a 60/40 mix of Biblical/Country Wisdom, with a little Aristotle, Socrates, Voltaire etc thrown in.

They are really a life philosophy condensed down to one or two sentences. They come to me often just when I need them. An easy and quick reference ..... Kind of like a granola bar for the Soul.

Everybody please share one or two, or more, that help keep you sane and centered, or that give you strength. Give us one or two now and then keep adding as you think of, or run across another one.

Please add the attribution if you know it, but dont not put one on just because you dont know where it came from. We can probably trace it back to where it came from, and that can be great fun, too.

I'll start with about three of my favorites, then y'all (I swear it really IS a Word) can Chime in. I think this will be great fun, besides being helpful.



In Spite of Illness,
in Spite even
of the Archenemy Sorrow,
One can remain Alive and Well
long past the usual
Date of Disintegration
if One Remains Unafraid of Change,
Insatiable in Intellectual Curiosity,
Interested in Big Things,
and Happy in Small Ways.

Edith Wharton, 1897




If of Thy Mortal Goods Thou Art Bereft,

And of Thy Slender Store Two Loaves Alone to Thee Are Left,

Sell One, and with the Dole

Buy some Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul.


--Saadi, about 1256


The Superfluous is a Very Necessary Thing.

Voltaire, about 1760

[John Howard]

Hey Everyone.

Sorry I have been more or less MIA . Just kinda got whelmed-over here recently. That's 'overwhelmed' for other people, but since most everything for me has been kinda backwards for quite some time, I just invented that word, figured it suited me better.

Anyway, I got a Huge Answer to a very Sincere and Desperate Prayer yesterday. It was about something that had just nearly oppressed me to the point of obliteration for over six months now. I was not sleeping, or functioning well, for worry. Yesterday it was basically resolved and in a much bigger and better way than I had dared to ask, and from a direction that was totally unexpected by me.

I have to keep remembering that the same God who brought me all this way is perfectly capable of taking me the rest of the journey, and He doesnt need any worrying from me to do it, either. Still, I sometimes do ..... perhaps someday I will learn.

Now that I will be back to some semblance of normal (and that's about as close as I ever want to be, anyway) I hope to be here on a more or less daily basis. I would like to try to post at least one inspiring quote on here per day. Not saying that will happen, but it will be a goal.

Thanks to everyone who has participated so far.

[John Howard]

He who has Begun
is Half Done,
Dare to be Wise--
Begin!!

HORACE 65 B C


This is one I use myself, because when I get worried like I was recently, I find myself almost paralyzed. This one helps me a lot!!!

[John Howard]

This is a very good one, too.

I dont personally need this one very much ..... I recovered from this about 25 years ago!! But it is something that stalls out a lot of people. Maybe it will be of some help to someone.

I CANNOT GIVE YOU THE FORMULA FOR SUCCESS,
BUT I CAN GIVE YOU THE FORMULA FOR *FAILURE*
WHICH IS....... TRY TO PLEASE EVERYBODY.

Herbert Bayard Swope

[John Howard]

Something that has always struck me as profound was this verse in the Bible ....

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

It helps me stay centered and focused.

Along that line, I discovered a song I didnt know and it struck me as so beautiful that I had to sing it and I made it in two versions. Apparently it is well-known by many, but was new to me. It is just a common theme of praise and worship but of uncommon beauty and simplicity. The links are below.

Solo Version:
http://www.singsnap.com/snap/r/b7df81a1

Duet Version
http://www.singsnap.com/snap/r/ba116e5d1

Please do not feel that you should go to them because you know me, I am just saying they are my way of praise and thankfulness, and if you would like to join you are welcome.

[John Howard]

I'm going to post several today, since I have been sorta MIA.

If a Man happens to Find Himself
He has a Mansion
Which He can Inhabit
All the Days of His Life.

James Michener

This one strikes me as Profound. I think that is the continual Search of all Humanity ..... to first Find Who We Are, and secondly, to then have the Courage to Be Him/Her.

[John Howard]

Related to the one above ..... in fact, the second part of what I was saying .....

The Chiefest Point of Happiness is that a Man be Willing to Be What He Is.

Erasmus, 1525

[John Howard]

A Good Easy Sensible One ..... Smile, Laugh, etc ......

A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like a Medicine

Proverbs, 17:22

[John Howard]

Ever been weighed down by being done wrong .... cheated, disrespected, etc ??

How about this tactic to dealing with it??

To be Wronged is Nothing .....
Unless You Continue to Remember it.

Confucius, 500 B C

[Mike]

Not sure who wrote this but i have heard my grandmothers say it..

" Lust and Love grow on the same stalk. No what your picking first"

It took me a lot of years to understand this..

[Mike]

Another one i really like was

"Don't give your heart to someone you can live with Save it for someone you can't live with out. So don't fall before your pushed"

Again not sure who wrote them. But they really say something to me..

[Les]

Hi sweetie, couldn.,t agree more with you the trick though is to react in the positive and not the negitive this somtimes takes great strength of charector to do especially when it seems like the negitive is diricted at you when in fact it is not and when it is the one who says they Love you
I do Love you
Les

Marilie said:

Hi John, thought I would throw two here, too.....hugs Marilie

You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.
— Brian Tracy

At times I'm so discouraged with problems of the day, I fail to see THE JOYFUL THINGS that are along the way; When troubles overwhelm me it's then my nerves may fray, that's when I need to take the time to simply sit and pray; I must try to remember though problems come my way, not to miss THE JOYFUL THINGS and the beauty of the day.
— Author Unknown