Today has been a quote day, and so I now would like to share some more of my personal anecdotes with comments interspersed because I am feeling quite the talker at this time =)
Visions of self -
"What we truly and earnestly aspire to be, that in some sense we are." -Anna Brownell Jameson, Irish writer (1794-1860)
Well, she is right you know - I am great, lol =)
"...when you're feeling helpless and hopeless, the worst thing you can do is just stand back and let people rescue you." -Linda Henley-
This makes me think of my childhood. How many times did I fall off my bike, wail out in agony and then punch my fists out at anyone who tried to help me back up? I'd forgotten this important lesson until just now. It makes me think of myself as a kid when I was about 3 years old, me, who when playing with whichever Fisher Price see-hear-do toy always chimed a big, "No! Iya do it! Mine." There really is nothing worse than standing there watching someone clean up a mess you've made. It really infuriates me, because I'm not one to readily concede failure. But I need to remember and celebrate all the times I picked myself back up from those accidents - it's an important, priceless lesson.
"My parents, my teachers, my friends ... -- everybody held up a mirror and I accepted the image that came back. Well, it finally dawned on me that my reflection in other's eyes was the truth once removed." - Richard Moran -
"Advice is what we ask when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." -anonymous-
The 2 previous quotes are related, I think, and become more and more apparent to me everytime I get ready to ask for someone's advice. In case you couldn't already tell, my transition from standard evaluation system to the more real world-based subjective evaluation system is not without its hiccups. But I do value greatly the people who can mirror me at given times so I can see myself - there is much to see (and i don't necessarily mean that literally, lol).
Visions of love -
"The truth (is) that there is only one terminal dignity - love. And the story of a love is not important - what is important is that one is capable of love. It is perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity." - Helen Hayes -
"The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It's a perpetual wound." - Maureen Duffy -
"Believe in fate. Don't settle. Wait for that special someone who makes you want to be a better person. Hold on to that person and don't ever take love for granted. And if you think the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, try working on your own yard before jumping over." -a quote found in O magazine-
"But there is only one thing that has power completely, and that is love. Because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power." - Alan Paton, Cry the Beloved Country
the Power of Listening -
"Genuine friendship cannot exist where one of the parties is unwilling to hear the truth and the other is equally indisposed to speak it." -Cicero-
"You listened, not like a priest who listens for a sin, but like a sinner who listens for his own redemption." -Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces
The final quote is probably my most favorite of all because, in a very seamless and lyrical way, it speaks a beautiful truth. I just love it and it makes me want to be a better listener because that really is when I learn and grow. And you know I do believe we have two eyes, two ears and one mouth for a reason - finally! I'm getting that.