The topic chosen for this month by the blogging group is 'Five quotes you love and live by'.
I was a quote fan when I was a kid. I had a clipboard over my study desk where I pinned my quotes, read and re-read them, showed them off to relatives and friends who came home. As time flew by I realized a lot of the quotes look pretty on the board and sound inspiring but in real life they don't seem practical. So my list of quotes keep changing with my viewpoints and varied experiences.
My current two favorite quotes are listed on the blog itself. Following are a few others that have influenced my life from time to time.
Everything happens for the best
Reminds me of an apt story of a small girl who goes up to her mom who is knitting and sees that her mother is just making a set of knots. The kid says it looks ugly and the mom just smiles and tells her to wait till its over. Once its done the kid exclaims 'its beautiful'. Then the mom explains that its the knots at the right place that make the entire design beautiful.
Life is just like that - we just see the knots at the moment. But we need the knots at the right place to make the entire pattern of our life beautiful in the end.Easier said than done, when days don't look bright, the above quote is a real consolation. Everything happens for a reason and eventually it all happens for the best.
It's always darkest before dawn
Almost everything follows a sine curve - be it market economies or natural cycle of days, seasons etc. Nobody and nothing remains at its peak and similarly nobody and nothing can remain at rock bottom forever. You can hit the lowest possible point from where there is no other way to go but up. The crests of the sine curve make life worthwhile and the troughs make life miserable. Humans have invented a miracle solution to trudge through the troughs that hit us every now and then - thats HOPE. And thats precisely what the quote provides - hope of a better tomorrow and a brighter future.
If the grass is greener the other side , you can bet the water bill is higher
Why does it feel at times that others have more than we do ,others seem to be more happier than we are ? But what we forget is that everything comes with its own baggage and most of the times we are just not exposed to the darker side of things. People who are richer have more troubles taking care of all the money and worry about losing it. CEOs have fame and fortune but don't have family time. Celebrities could be household names and achieved a lot in a short span but they can not step out and live a normal life without eyes tracking their every move.
Whenever I am envious of some one / some thing , the above quote gives a better perspective of things and I realize that every pro comes with a counter balancing con.
If it is to be , it is up to me
Ten most powerful two letter words ! I firmly believe that personal motivation and persistence can really give rewards.Once I have made my mind, hardly anything can come in my way. I have faced failures and had successful attempts but at the end of the day it is me making those decisions and so the failures and successes are mine too.
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional
The more I age the more I remind myself of this quote. I see so many people around me who are older(based on the time they have spent on earth) but there has not been any significant improvement in their maturity levels. They still continue to display kiddish and immature behavior - they assume their age gives them authority to be excluded from improvement. Growing old is really simple - there is nothing needed to be done on our part for it. In comparison growing up is really really hard. It requires you probe yourself, be aware of your shortcomings, look at opportunities to improve and make persistent attempts to get better with time. It also requires you to be open minded, give everyone their personal space and change your attitude with changing times.
Few of the other quotes that I like are :
A bend in the road does not mean the end of the road unless you fail to take the turn
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
Most of the shadows in life are caused by us standing in our own sunshine.
I was a quote fan when I was a kid. I had a clipboard over my study desk where I pinned my quotes, read and re-read them, showed them off to relatives and friends who came home. As time flew by I realized a lot of the quotes look pretty on the board and sound inspiring but in real life they don't seem practical. So my list of quotes keep changing with my viewpoints and varied experiences.
My current two favorite quotes are listed on the blog itself. Following are a few others that have influenced my life from time to time.
Everything happens for the best
Reminds me of an apt story of a small girl who goes up to her mom who is knitting and sees that her mother is just making a set of knots. The kid says it looks ugly and the mom just smiles and tells her to wait till its over. Once its done the kid exclaims 'its beautiful'. Then the mom explains that its the knots at the right place that make the entire design beautiful.
Life is just like that - we just see the knots at the moment. But we need the knots at the right place to make the entire pattern of our life beautiful in the end.Easier said than done, when days don't look bright, the above quote is a real consolation. Everything happens for a reason and eventually it all happens for the best.
It's always darkest before dawn
Almost everything follows a sine curve - be it market economies or natural cycle of days, seasons etc. Nobody and nothing remains at its peak and similarly nobody and nothing can remain at rock bottom forever. You can hit the lowest possible point from where there is no other way to go but up. The crests of the sine curve make life worthwhile and the troughs make life miserable. Humans have invented a miracle solution to trudge through the troughs that hit us every now and then - thats HOPE. And thats precisely what the quote provides - hope of a better tomorrow and a brighter future.
If the grass is greener the other side , you can bet the water bill is higher
Why does it feel at times that others have more than we do ,others seem to be more happier than we are ? But what we forget is that everything comes with its own baggage and most of the times we are just not exposed to the darker side of things. People who are richer have more troubles taking care of all the money and worry about losing it. CEOs have fame and fortune but don't have family time. Celebrities could be household names and achieved a lot in a short span but they can not step out and live a normal life without eyes tracking their every move.
Whenever I am envious of some one / some thing , the above quote gives a better perspective of things and I realize that every pro comes with a counter balancing con.
If it is to be , it is up to me
Ten most powerful two letter words ! I firmly believe that personal motivation and persistence can really give rewards.Once I have made my mind, hardly anything can come in my way. I have faced failures and had successful attempts but at the end of the day it is me making those decisions and so the failures and successes are mine too.
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional
The more I age the more I remind myself of this quote. I see so many people around me who are older(based on the time they have spent on earth) but there has not been any significant improvement in their maturity levels. They still continue to display kiddish and immature behavior - they assume their age gives them authority to be excluded from improvement. Growing old is really simple - there is nothing needed to be done on our part for it. In comparison growing up is really really hard. It requires you probe yourself, be aware of your shortcomings, look at opportunities to improve and make persistent attempts to get better with time. It also requires you to be open minded, give everyone their personal space and change your attitude with changing times.
Few of the other quotes that I like are :
A bend in the road does not mean the end of the road unless you fail to take the turn
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
Most of the shadows in life are caused by us standing in our own sunshine.
