Word to the Wise

When I was in high school, my best friend, who knew and understood my love of inspirational quotes, gave me this notebook in which to collect them. We were both into politics and Saturday Night Live, so I appreciated the humor of a blank book called The Collected Wisdom(e) of Dan Quayle. We were also Democrats, apparently. Very idealistic young women ready to change the world. Didn't take me long to become disillusioned with that. And also to realize I have a better chance of playing in the NFL than becoming a politician, or any kind of "salesman" for that matter. I am the girl that found the loophole in the political science curriculum and avoided taking speech by taking logic. (And acing it... definite sign I am not politician material. Bwahaha!) At any rate, I am happy with my web-dev job, and as far as helping others, I try to give back when I can. My son is still young and keeps me busy, but as soon as he gets a bit older, I think he and I are going to do some community service together. I started young, and all of my projects were invaluable experiences for me.

For this week's "listicles," Stasha has asked us to share some of our favorite quotes. I decided to pick my top 15 (10 wasn't enough ;)) favorite quotes from this book. Without further ado:

1. "Some men see things as they are and say 'Why?' I dream things that never were and say, 'Why not?'" - Robert Kennedy quoting George Bernard Shaw
2. "I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend." - Abraham Lincoln
3. "O wad some power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as others see us!" - Robert Burns
4. "Even a fist was once a hand with an open palm and fingers" - Yehuda Amichai
5. "We must give our hands to serve and our hearts to love." - Mother Theresa
6. "easier to live in the comfort zone / when the denomination of the bills gets too large / it's hard to make change." - EK Caldwell
7. "Much madness is divinest sense to a discerning eye; much sense the starkest madness." - Emily Dickinson
8. "People want to know how much you care before they care how much you know." - James F. Hind
9. "If you're the only one that knows you're afraid, you're brave." - Irish Proverb
10. "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of you can change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." - Robert Kennedy
11. "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see." - Hebrews 11:1
12. "Sometimes you think the whole world is falling, and it's only yourself that's leaning." - Pearl Bailey
13. "'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." - Romans 13:9-10
14. "The Lord gave you two ends: one for sitting and one for thinking. Your success depends on which you use. Heads, you win. Tails, you lose." - Ann Landers
15. "The one who tells the stories rules the world." - Native American Proverb

I'll close with one more, a quote that was painted in the Bruins' locker room in the old Garden:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood... who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his face will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

That's all. I promise. Before I get too carried away... ;)