Often when I am writing a card for a special occasion or sending a note to express some emotional point I find what I want to say has already been said. Usually it has been said by someone far more profound and well known than I’ll ever be. Sometimes, though, someone, just an average person like you and me, says something that I find really profound or relevant.
Here are a few quotes, sayings, or comments that resonate with me:
1. "Fair does not mean equal". I LOVE this. It was said by a fellow mom to one of her children in the schoolyard the other day and I have totally adopted it.
2. "Sometimes I have the best time when I forget what I’m doing". My 5 year old. I love this so much because it is absolutely true. This specific time was when, after much cajoling, I convinced her to run an errand with me. She agreed because I said "we" could play Superheroes on the way. As she was racing after the bad guys on her scooter she ended up finding some blooming flowers, some new buds, an ant colony and TONS of bad guys to capture. Before she knew it we were finished the errand and on on our way back home but she wanted to keep going on our adventure! It reminded me that when you focus on the chore – the part you are not looking forward to – you miss the opportunity to live in the moment and appreciate all of the other great things on the journey.
That leads to this one by John Lennon:
3. "Life is what happens when you are making other plans". Yup…so much of it passes by without us even noticing!
4. "When good things come easily from within us, we sometimes have difficulty believing that it might simply be a gift". Someone sent this to me after they gave me a big compliment about something and I laughed it off. I have it posted in my office. This reminds me that each of us has different things we do well and to make light of something someone else admires in you is insulting to them and unfair to you. Just because it comes easily to you doesn’t mean it isn’t something worth valuing!
5. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent". Eleanor Roosevelt. Love. It. I talk about this with my kids all the time. People can say what they want but YOU control how you react and how it impacts you.
6. "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body". This quote by Elizabeth Stone so perfectly describes how I feel about my children…especially when I am feeling all MamaBearish or ProudMamaish.
7. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind". Dr. Suess. Sometimes when I am feeling insecure or judged I think of this quote and know that those who really matter accept me for who I am.
8. "The days are long but the years are short". This was said to me when I had a very needy 3 month old and I spent every day waiting for him to grow up enough that he wouldn’t need me so much. I heard it then but I know it now. I look back and long to have a few more minutes with that needy little babe.
9. "The question isn’t whether we will die but how we will live". As I get older I realize how precious every day is and how much I still have to learn. It is up to ME to make my life what I want it to be.
10. "I did it because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings but then I realized I was hurting my own". Words of wisdom from my 8.5 year old. I actually cried when he said this because I finally understood the conflict he had going on inside him. This is so critical though. I told him, you have to be kind to others but don’t forget about yourself in the process.
THIS JUST IN! A late addition from a friend during a discussion about organized religion. It was in reference to Passover but could be applied to any religion’s rules. It is my new mantra!
11. "I believe in the idea that living my life as a good person means a whole lot more than whether I eat raspberries or not". Amen.
So, how about you? Any fave quotes or sayings? Any inspiring moments from your kids or a friend? Please share.
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. – Ross Perot
would it be ok if i just said great post cause thats how i felt? i think this blog is awesome nice post
“You make your own work” said a friend of a friend. This is what I think about when I’m cleaning up the mess left by my 3 and 4 year old while I was ‘busy’ on the computer or talking on the phone.
Jen – I think of you and your fam when I hear this one…
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe – “If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.”
The one I love the most was from a movie I watched when an old man said to the young guy:
“A year knows more than a day.”