Aphorisms from Aa to Zz: Vv

Valor

You must do the thing you think you cannot do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

People living deeply have no fear of death. ~ Anais Nin

The powerful effect of words on valor differs between the sexes.  Women can make men tremble in their boots by uttering four little words: “we need to talk.” 

Men, in contrast, terrorize women by saying “don’t worry about it,” when asked why they need the bug spray.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.  ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Values

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Don’t sacrifice your values to reach your goals.

He who trims himself to suit everyone else will soon whittle himself away. ~Raymond Hull

Happiness flows from being true to yourself.

What lies before us, and what lies behind us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson or Oliver Wendell Holmes

Vantage Point

We see the world behind our eyes.

If we’re too focused on reaching the destination, we miss all the lovely detours along the way.

Wherever you go, there you are.

You’ll miss half the trip if you have your eyes glued to the rear-view mirror.

The more you focus on viewing others with love, kindness, compassion, and acceptance, the more your view and God’s view will merge.

We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. ~  Anais Nin

Vices

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. ~ Winston Churchill

If someone says they’re not feeling “up to snuff” . . . does that mean that all vices are off limits?

The worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity. ~ Oscar Wilde

Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice. ~ Samuel Johnson

Vivisection

Vivisection is a social evil because, if it advances human knowledge, it does so at the expense of human character.  ~ George Bernard Shaw

Animal research is cruel to the animal, dangerous to the public, and misleading to the scientist. – Dr. G Dettman

How smart does a chimp have to be before killing him constitutes murder? ~ Carl Sagan

Atrocities are no less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called research.  ~ George Bernard Shaw

It’s a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best of people have always done.  ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

If we do not do something to help these creatures, we make a mockery of the whole concept of justice.  ~ Jane Goodall