Quotes, Quotes, and Quips January 25, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Word Play, Writing & Writers.trackback
You guys know I love quotes, right?
Quotes, and adages, and aphorisms, and pithy sayings, and quips, and . . .
If you don’t, just type “aphorism” or “quote” in the search bar and you’ll be busy scrolling for some time. Come back and join us when you’re finished.
Today, I stumbled into several posts on quotes which are worth a peak:
Sandra Lee posted 101 Inspirational Quotes To Light Up Your Life (Always Well Within). One quote resonated with me in light of my recent post You’re Going the WRONG Way!:
“It doesn’t really matter how fast you’re going if you’re heading in the wrong direction.” ~ Stephen Covey
Another new favorite:
“Don’t write because you want to say something, write because you have something to say.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
A reminder from Thoreau to view life with alert curiosity and awareness:
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
A reminder not to let one blemish prevent us from seeing all the remaining blessings in the basket:
“Don’t let one cloud obliterate the whole sky.” ~ Anais Nin
WordPress posted 30 Writing Quotes to Motivate You (Daily Post) which sent me around to 30 Writing Quotes to Kick Off 2011 (The Urban Muse).
My two favorites from the U.M. list, which capture how I feel about the sheer enjoyment I get from writing:
“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” ~ Isaac Asimov
“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” ~ Gloria Steinem
For the inner artist who longs to share the majesty of the world with readers:
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” ~ Anton Chekhov
And for those of us who enjoy writing because we get to control both sides of every conversation:
“We writers dream of a future where actors are mostly computer generated and their performances can be adjusted, by us, on a laptop, alone.” ~ Tina Fey
To round out the day, Granny shared some quips in her post, Granny’s Hot Tuesday. I especially enjoyed:
#9 ~ Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
#5 ~ Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals, dying of nothing.
How about you? Heard any good quotes lately?
No rules. Just write!
Related posts: Quickly Quotable ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (My Literary Quest) * Aphorisms from Aa to Zz: Zz * A Writer’s Life For Me
Spirit Lights The Way 
I’ve got tons. . .how many you want? I love my currently posted one by G. B. Shaw: “A happy family is but an earlier heaven.”
I would not have guess George Bernard Shaw as the author of that quote. Very similar to one of my favorites:
Happiness is being married to your best friend.
When I posted the Aphorism posts (from Aa to Zz), I had intended to update them regularly.
I’ve since decided that collecting quotes would be a full time job.
So, just toss out whatever quotes you feel like sharing and save the rest for another day.
My mother used to say: People that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. It took me years to figure out what she meant. I finally realized she said it whenever I got my feelings hurt by something someone said. Apparently, I said something first and then came crying to her when my foe retaliated. Blessings…
Thanks, Carol Ann.
I’ve always interpreted that quote with a slightly different twist ~ that people with obvious flaws (apparent to others through the glass) shouldn’t accuse others of being flawed. But then it’s almost identical to “Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.”
On first reading, I liked your mother’s translation better ~ until you’re tough enough to take it, don’t dish it out. But that implies that if you ARE tough enough to take it, you can throw stones as much as you want.
Hmm . . . now I’m lost in a sea of confusion.
Scatter kindness. 😀
Love ’em all, keep ’em coming 🙂
Ooh, that sounds like a dangerous motto. 🙂
If ’em = glasses of wine, we’d be drunk
If ’em = sexual partners, we’d be promiscuous
If ’em = offspring, we’d be worn out and frazzled
If ’em = chocolate . . . keep ’em coming!
Mmm . . . chocolate. 🙂
John Irving wrote of Leonard Cohen: “Leonard’s a narcissist who hates himself.”
I don’t know either personality well enough to comment specifically.
I expect that many “narcissists” desire admiration from others because they don’t approve of themselves. They’re not sure that they “measure up” unless people keep telling them that they are “all that.”
Some brilliant quotes there NR…thank you for the mention.
Have a great day.
Thanks for your quips, granny. Hope you feel cool today.
Too bad we can’t circulate the extreme cold and the extreme heat to keep everyone a bit more comfortable.
Thanks for the quotes! Some of them really hit home for me. 🙂
I’m going to adopt a few from Sandra’s list to keep in my aphorism arsenal.
One of my favorite things about quotes is that they seem so “perfect” until you realize the conflict with another “perfect” expression:
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
The more the merrier.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Quotes I adore!!
*#*
Yay! Both lists are worth a look – by any bona fide lover of quotes. 😉
My husband just shared this quote with me yesterday…
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
He thought I would appreciate it for my love of reading and books.
Groucho Marx cracks me up! 🙂
“Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.”
That’s one of my favorite quotes. Nice post! You can never have too many good quotes. 🙂
My favorite quotes are ones that reinforce the lessons I’ve learned in life . . . and the ones that make me LAUGH! 🙂
I’ll start posting more – but I always have one on the sidebar on my site (usually for about a week), coupled with “wisdom” from me to complement it! HA!!
Here’s another favorite that comes from a surprising source (to me, anyway): Henry War Beecher –
“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.”
Now, that’s what I’m talking about! What a great quote!!!
Thanks, Paula.
“Get busy living … or get busy dying.” I love that line by the Morgan Freeman character in Shawshank Redemption.
Also … RFK said “Some people look at things the way they are, and ask why. I look at things that never were and ask, why not.”
BTW. Both “Little Big Man” and “Doctor Zhivago” are on Turner Moive Classics this weekend! Jackpot!!
— Judson
Thanks for the quotes and the heads up. I may keep my eye out for them.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Little Big Man.
Thanks, Judson!
Hi
So many great quotes I don’t know which is my favourite!
Maybe..
“It doesn’t really matter how fast you’re going if you’re heading in the wrong direction.” ~ Stephen Covey
That’s a great reminder not to keep slogging forward if it seems like you might be on the wrong road. 😉
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” ~ Anton Chekhov
That’s a great motivator to write something!
This would be my husband’s favorite,#5 ~ Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals, dying of nothing.
I agree with you. Chekhov’s quote is on the money. And quip #5 made me laugh out loud.