Not what you have, but what you see; Not what you see, but what you choose; Not what seems fair, but what is true; Not what you dream, but what you do; Not what you take, but what you give; Not as you pray, but as you live. These are the things that mar or bless The sum of human happiness.

Our history is not our destiny.

Alan Cohen

Nerd love. It's a beautiful thing, while also being an object of mockery and hilarity for those of us who are more sophisticated.

Cassandra Clare

Usually the modest person passes for someone reserved, the silent for a sullen person

Horace

Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death does.

Gerald Brenan

Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

how we rolled up the carpet so we could dance, and the days were bright red, and every time we kissed there was anotherappleto slice into pieces.Look at the light through the windowpane. That means it's noon,that meanswe're inconsolable.Tell me how all this, and love too, will ruin us.These our bodies, possessed by light.Tell me we'll never get used to it.

Richard Siken

The master of the garden is the one who waters it, trims the branches, plants the seeds, and pulls the weeds. If you merely stroll through the garden, you are but an acolyte.

Vera Nazarian

One filled with joy preaches without preaching.

Mother Theresa

Fear follows crime and is its punishment.

Voltaire

Their manners, speech, dress, friendships, -- the freshness and candor of their physiognomy -- the picturesque looseness of their carriage -- their deathless attachment to freedom -- their aversion to anything indecorous or soft or mean -- the practical acknowledgment of the citizens of one state by the citizens of all other states -- the fierceness of their roused resentment -- their curiosity and welcome of novelty -- their self-esteem and wonderful sympathy -- their susceptibility to a slight -- the air they have of persons who never knew how it felt to stand in the presence of superiors -- the fluency of their speech -- their delight in music, a sure symptom of manly tenderness and native elegance of soul -- their good temper and open-handedness -- the terrible significance of their elections, the President's taking off his hat to them, not they to him -- these too are unrhymed poetry. It awaits the gigantic and generous treatment worthy of it.

Walt Whitman

One must always hope when one is desperate, and doubt when one hopes.

Gustave Flaubert

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.

Abraham Lincoln