Posts Tagged With: quotes

Finding Words Everywhere

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Kami

Being a fan of words I look for and read them everywhere. I think it all started ages ago while reading the backs of cereal boxes. Now I read everything: signs, plaques, memorials, directions, chalkboards, menus, whiteboards, magnets, carvings, raised metal, blocks, imprints, impressions, sidewalk chalk, train graffiti, book spines, air fresheners, notices, refrigerators, headlines. Even the occasional book.

Words hang out everywhere and in some surprising places. Some even smell good.

Here’s a few words I’ve run into lately:

The good and the bad.

The good and the bad.

“There are places I remember all my life, Though some have changed, Some forever, not for better, Some have gone and some remain.” ~ From the Beatles”In My Life.” 

 

Such a tiny word...

Such a tiny word…

“Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.” ~Khalil Gibran

Life began here.

Life began here.

“The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter.” ~Bill Mollison

 

Don't ask me to choose just one kind.

Don’t ask me to choose just one kind.

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” ~ David Mamet

 

A concrete idea.

A concrete idea.

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” ~ Michelangelo

 

I believe I can fly, somedays.

Wings, roots, reasons.

“Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay.” ~ Dalai Lama 

 

Such a big word.

Such a big word.

“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

~*~~*~~*~

Categories: Communication, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fortunate

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Kami

Fortune cookies play as entertainment in my book. I don’t place much credence in fortune-telling, or in predicting the future, or stuff like that. I do, however, find some interesting tidbits of wisdom or humor in those crunchy pockets of cellophane wrapped take-out.

20130915-095630.jpgTake this one. “Good luck is the result of good planning.”

I plan much and then play things by ear. I’m spontaneous, flexible and easy-going. Planning on my part seems like a way to bring some humor into God’s day. “She thinks she’s going to do what today? Hahahahahaha.” As anyone who knows me will attest, I’m easy and I’ve learned how to fall without getting hurt too badly. I do feel lucky but not in the classic sense.

I’m glad to provide someone with a good laugh on occasion, even if it’s God, or the Fate’s or someone looking on at my attempts at leading a productive and helpful life.

20130915-095659.jpg“Most spend lives reading the menu instead of enjoying the banquet.” I can never decide what to eat when I go out to dinner. I end up getting something familiar then watch whoever I’m with enjoy something new and yummy. Put me in front of a buffet and I’ll have a grand time! Lately life’s banquet has been sumptuous. And if I’m honest, it’s always been a feast of epic proportions, but I haven’t always recognized that.

20130915-095710.jpg“Nature, time and patience are the three great physicians.” I’m not sure I can add any more to this one. Like most doctor’s advice, we don’t want to follow through, we want a pill, a quick fix, an instacure. Let Nature work her miracles on what ails you. She’s a master healer for me. And the twins Time and Patience, they’ll work their own special brand of healing whether you want to wait and see or not.

20130915-095825.jpg“Any troubles you have will pass very shortly.” If by “shortly” they mean eventually, then this one speaks truth. While we’re in the middle of chaos and mayhem and heartache, time seems to stand still. I’ve found it helpful to remember what  the Persian sufi poets have said, “This too shall pass.” I also try to picture myself still dealing with the particular flavor of trouble I’m experiencing, oh say, five years from now, and often picture seems brighter with the trouble in my rear view mirror. This is particularly true of children trouble, oddly enough.

20130915-095648.jpg“You will have a long and wealthy life.” Subjective words like long and wealthy can mislead. Long enough is long. And wealthy in what? Money? Sure that’d be nice. But, I like to think of myself as wealthy in family, rich with experiences, decadent in knowledge, comfortably well-off in friendships, affluent in laughter and prospering with gratitude. What greater wealth could a person hope for?

20130915-095841.jpg“You are strong and brave.” I have this one in my wallet where I can see it daily. Hopefully I’m internalizing the idea as well. It’s something I really need to incorporate. If you can believe that you’re strong and brave, then you can valiantly and gracefully endure any troubles you face.

*A side note here for a select few. If it doesn’t apply to you then skip ahead to the last paragraph, or if you can listen quietly, then go ahead and read anyway.

*I know a few of you think of yourselves as weak and scared. You’re wrong. I’ve seen as life has woven strength into and through you. I’ve watched as you’ve battled frightening odds and climbed treacherous trails. You’re braver than you believe. Say this to yourself today. Say it to yourself every day. “I am strong and brave.  I am strong and brave. I am strong and brave.” Say it until you believe it. Say it for the rest of your life. It’s true. You just need to believe that it is.*

An unopened fortune cookie

My favorite chinese food is crab puffs. There. I’ve admitted it. Followed closely by egg rolls, spring rolls and fried rice. I never have much luck with Kung Pao. I usually end up with one of those red peppers burning off half my tongue before I can swallow the rest of the deliciousness. Not sure why I felt compelled to disclose that. But it’s out there now.

And from what I’ve heard and read, fortune cookies didn’t even originate in China. You can read a bit more about it by clicking here if you feel so inclined. Wherever they came from, they sure make for some great conversation starters and often some good laughs.

Wishing you good fortune and happiness today and everyday.

Categories: Wondering | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sunday Quotables, Too, or Two, or Again

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Kami

I really don’t like the title of this post. There’s got to be a better way of saying it, but I am fresh out of brilliance and, as a friend of mine calls it, “finesse.”

If you have any suggestions for a Sunday Post title I’d be thrilled and would gratefully name one of my garden flowers after you, or something wondrous like that.

So this first quote is, admittedly, taken out of context and edited. I’ll share the edited one with you first. Then, under that I’ll give you the full quote as I found it. I like both versions, a lot. The longer one leans toward the rebellious side, which I have a tendency to tip toward myself. So, on my mini-chalkboard at home I quoted the non-rebellious version. I’m pretty sure Mark Twain would hang me up by my toenails and throw sharp words at me, at the very least.

20130901-145332.jpg

“Life is short, Break the Rules.
Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY.
Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably
And never regret ANYTHING
That makes you smile.”
— Mark Twain

I agree, Life is short, even at its longest. I don’t generally condone breaking the rules, but have been known to do so, a little too often. And, regret?  Regret falls under an entire category of multiple blog posts which I may, someday if I feel brave, write and elucidate on.

“The Lord of the Rings” books shine with brilliance and wisdom. I try to restrain myself from quoting Tolkien too often, but you gotta admit, he nails it time and again. Here’s a tiny bite of the feast that his words created.

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Then, there’s this saying I have on my wall in the kitchen. It’s a reminder to myself that I’m not really really old. Even though parts of me seem insistent on convincing me otherwise.

20130901-145400.jpg

I’ll refrain from vowing to get to bed earlier, eat better, brush more often and exercise twice as much as usual. I think I just want to try to stay young at heart. Which would involve the first quote: forgiving, kissing, loving, laughing. I can do those.

That’s all I’ve got for today.

Wishing you a week filled with grateful moments, joy, and laughter.

Categories: Fun, Happiness | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Smile, and the World Smiles With You

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Kami

I’m not sure when it happened but I adopted a coping skill that is best described by a quote from a famous American humorist and writer.

“If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it “– Erma Bombeck

I’m not sure why I started laughing, or creating a joke in stressful situations.  I didn’t decide I was going to do it.  I didn’t read about it as a way to alleviate tension or anxiety.  There was no epiphany where I suddenly saw humor as a temporary solution to contention.  It just happened.  Like jumping at a sudden loud sound, this was reflexive. When a friend pointed out to me that I had this ability to defuse a situation with humor, it surprised me.

I just don’t deal with anger very well, mine or others’.  Tears I can handle.  But anger unmoors me and sets me adrift.  I want to run from the room if someone is angry or mean or bitter.  I don’t like the taste or texture of anger.

I’m not much of a comedian. I might not be able to neutralize a bad scene for others, but I can alleviate my own internal reaction to what’s going on around me.

Sure, laughter isn’t going to bring us world peace, smiling might not cure hunger, being happy may not rid the earth of heartache.  But, I’ve found that looking on the shinier side of things, having a hopeful point of view is easier than the other options and makes the tough stuff more bearable.

Here are some great quotes on humor, laughter and smiling that say more than I ever could on the subject.  That’s why they’re quotable.  Enjoy.

Dealing with Life’s Difficulties

There is a proverb that says, “ A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

 “What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.” -Yiddish Proverb

“The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.”  -William Shakespeare, Othello

“Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it. “ -Unknown

Humor can improve your life in many ways:

“A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.”  -Charles Gordy

“Laughter is inner jogging.”- unknown

”Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”  -Victor Hugo

It can sometimes forge or improve relationships

English: Danish American comedian Victor Borge...

Danish American comedian Victor Borge, in 1990 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“A smile is a curve that can set everything straight.” – Phyllis Diller

”Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. “-Victor Borge

“Everyone smiles in the same language.” – unknown

I hope you find a reason to smile, or laugh today.  If you have read a great article, blog, joke or story, or have seen a video or photo that makes you laugh, please share!

Related articles
Categories: Humor, Relationships | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Taste of Wisdom and Insight

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Kami

 

Today I’m sharing some quotes that resonated with me when I read the book, “Let’s Take the Long Way Home” by Gail Caldwell.  This is a book I recommend to anyone.  In fact, I think it’s time I reread it myself.

Cover of "Let's Take the Long Way Home: A...

On Being a writer:

“If writers possess a common temperament, it’s that they tend to be shy egomaniacs; publicity is the spotlight they suffer for the recognition they crave.”

“…not without reason did an old friend refer to me as the gregarious hermit.  I wanted the warmth of spontaneous connection and the freedom to be left alone.”

Insight about Relationships:

“It took me years to grasp that this grit and discomfort in any relationship are an indicator of closeness, not its opposite….we had great power to hurt each other, and because we acknowledged this weapon we tried never to use it.”

“dying doesn’t end the story; it transforms it.  Edits, rewrites, the blur and epiphany of one-way dialogue.  Most of us wander in and out of one another’s lives until not death, but distance, does us part – time and space and the heart’s weariness are the blander executioners of human connection.”

The Real Reality:

“…the world as we see it is only the published version.  The subterranean realms, whether churches or hospital rooms or smoke-filled basements, are part of what hold up the rest.”

About Dying:

“Suffering witnessed is a cloudy and impotent world: The well, armed with consciousness, watch a scene they cannot really grasp or do much to alter.  Suffering is what changes the endgame, changes death’s mantle from black to white.  It is a badly lit corridor outside of time, a place of crushing weariness, the only thing large enough to bully you into holding the door for death.”

Enduring Loss:

“Caroline’s death was a vacancy in the heart, a place I neither could nor wished to fill.”

“like a starfish, the heart endures its amputation.”

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Categories: Books | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My All Time Favorite Quote From a Book or Movie

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Kami
English: Ngong Hills, Kenya

Ngong Hills, Kenya (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?”
― Isak Dinesen, Out of Africa

I often wonder in similar tones, if who I am makes any difference in the world.  Is there lastingness to my daily efforts in living, sharing, being?

I’ve always found this quote a haunting query of the value of a life. I think, perhaps, she asks the wrong question, but I’m not certain what the correct question is.

Categories: Uncategorized, Wondering | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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