QUOTES TO HELP US REMEMBER WHO WE ARE AND WHO WE WANT TO BE

Compiled by Ruth A. Sheets

This week, I received a note from a friend that mentioned how difficult February can be.  It feels like spring should be here by now (even though this winter has been very warm) and there can be a lot of cloudy days.  My friend lost several members of his family in Februarys over the years and finds that sadness comes with the grey chilly days.  Perhaps February brings some sadness or just melancholy in general. 

For me, February is a month of hope, a belief that spring really is coming and that winter is moving on.  The grey days remind me that we need rain and yes, even snow when it comes.  So, to help me/us remember how special life is, I have compiled some quotes that have spoken to me over this past year.  I wish you joy, hope, peace, and happiness as you read and ponder them.

1. Kindness is the greatest work of all.  Small acts of kindness last longer than a lifetime.  Kindness and generosity and faith in your fellow man are more important than money.  Eddie Jaku, Auschwitz Survivor 

He also said:  May you always have lots of love to share, lots of good health to spare, and lots of good friends who care.  Every day, remember to be happy, and to make others happy too.  Make yourself a friend to the world.

2. Gratitude is the antidote to fear and there's always something to be thankful for.  Rita Wilson, Singer 

3. Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.  Marcel Proust, Writer, Philosopher 

4. We can't just hope for a brighter day, we have to work for a brighter day. Love too often gets buried in a world of hurt and fear. And we have to work to dig it out so we can share it with our family, our friends, and our neighbors. Dolly Parton, Singer, Song-writer, Activist

 5. You know you can always help to make each day a special day by just your being yourself. You grow in your own way; everyone does. That’s one reason each one of us is different and special and people can like us exactly as we are. Fred Rogers, Minister, Children’s TV Host 

 6. I've never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else. Abby Wambach, Soccer Star, Activist

 7. I'm convinced of this — Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they're stones that don't matter. As long as you're breathing, it's never too late to do some good.  Maya Angelou, Writer, Activist

 8. “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!  Anne Frank, Holocaust Victim

 9. Yes, you must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure make you forget that you have been created for greater things: to love and to be loved. Mother Teresa, Catholic Nun, Servant and an Advocate for Poor Persons

10. A single individual is enough for hope to exist. And that individual can be you.  Pope Francis

11. We are each other’s harvest.  We are each other’s business.  We are each other’s magnitude and bond. Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet, Activist

12. Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones.  Shannon L. Alder, Writer

13. Use me, God, show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Pastor, Activist   

14. It's good to remember that in crises, natural crises, human beings forget for a while their ignorances, their biases, their prejudices. For a little while, neighbors help neighbors and strangers help strangers.  Dr. Maya Angelou

15. The good news is that every morning we have the choice; not to be controlled by circumstances nor our past but by purposely designing our day, hence our lives better. Not to react to life but to respond with love. Bernard Kelvin Clive

16. Awe is the mind encountering the universe.  Rabbi Abraham Heschel 

17.  Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.  John Barrymore, Actor

18. We need to start from inclusion.  As things arise, I have confidence we can figure it out.  We can’t start at the opposite.  Megan Rappino, Soccer Star

19. Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.  Robert Frost, Poet  

20. You have the power within you to create a life greater than any fairy tale you’ve read.  Meghan Duchess of Sussex