Inspirational Quotes, Poems, Stories Or Words Of Encouragement

[bri]

I started working on this thread months ago, but just never got around to posting it cause I wasn’t sure it would be well received. I know many of you have fabulous perfect lives and might not share the need for this thread and if that is the case I am extremely happy for you and a little envious. Many of us find ourselves struggling with life, relationships, self worth, depression, financial difficulties or sorrow. Some of us could just use a little boost of inspiration or encouragement or comfort to get through a really bad day or a series of bad days. I have noticed some great sadness on here lately and thought there was a need for this. It lets people know others have experienced similar feelings or situations and understand. These are some of my favorite quotes or poems that have meaning for me and I hope some of them will have meaning for others. I invite you all to add your own and add your own commentary about them if you like. Don't be afraid to use humor because laughter can be most healing.







I am not sure where this quote originated, but it has always been a favorite. I have seen it in various forms, but this is my favorite.



“If you love something you should let it go free. If it comes back it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.”







I first read the following quote in one of Jenny McCarthy’s book and it reminded me of several people on here. Although the quote references women, I think it is universal and applies to men as well. So I hope as some of the men read this they will change the wording around to apply to them and know they are quality too.







“Women are like apples on trees, the best ones are on the top of the tree. The men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and don't want to get hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't so good but easy. So, the apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top because they value quality.”



Unknown Author





I try to remember these quotes as I go through life and always appreciate any kindness directed my way as I hope others will be affected by my acts.



“No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.”



Aesop





“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”



William Penn





"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."



Leo Buscaglia





I always feel terrible when I hurt someone and I know some of the things I have endured make the simplest things give me joy, little things that most people would just take for granted. These two quotes sum that up for me.





“If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember."



Khalil Gibran





“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”



Kahlil Gibran





"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."



Stephan Hoeller





“I wish I could show you, When you are lonely or in darkness, The astonishing light of your own being.”



Hafiz







“A loving heart is the truest wisdom."



Charles Dickens





“The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."



Allan K. Chalmers





“A man isn’t poor if he can still laugh."



Raymond Hitchcock





“No amount of money gives you class

And lack there of doesn’t make you trash.”



Bri





“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”



Walter Winchell





“The wings of hope carry us, soaring high above the driving winds of life.”



Ana Jacob





“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”



Thich Nhat Hanh

 

[TSD]

I like deathbed quotes.





"This is no time to make new enemies." - Voltaire, when asked on his deathbed to forswear Satan



"Dear me, I believe I am becoming a god. An emperor ought at least to die on his feet."

Vespasian (9-79 AD), Roman emperor



"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish dramatist. As he lay dying in Paris



Waiting are they? Waiting are they? Well--let 'em wait.

In response to an attending doctor who attempted to comfort him by saying, "General, I fear the angels are waiting for you."

~~ Ethan Allen, American Revolutionary general



I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.

~~ Humphrey Bogart, actor, d. January 14, 1957



I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct.

~~ Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702



Et tu, Brute? (even you brutus?)

Assassinated.

~~ Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman Rebel and dictator, d. 44 BC



I am still alive!

Stabbed to death by his own guards - (as reported by Roman historian Tacitus)

~~ Caligula, Roman Emperor, d.41 AD



Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.

To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.

~~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977



I am not the least afraid to die.

~~ Charles Darwin, d. April 19, 1882



All my possessions for a moment of time.

~~ Elizabeth I, Queen of England, d. 1603



I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.

~~ Richard Feynman, physicist, d. 1988



I know you have come to kill me. Shoot coward, you are only going to kill a man.

Facing his assassin, Mario Teran, a Bolivian soldier.

~~ Ernesto "Che" Guevara, d. October 9, 1967



Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers. (when asked if he wanted some fruit or flowers)

~~ Walter De La Mare, writer, d. 1956



Go on, get out - last words are for fools who haven't said enough.

To his housekeeper, who urged him to tell her his last words so she could write them down for posterity.

~~ Karl Marx, revolutionary, d. 1883



I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room - and God damn it - died in a hotel room.

~~ Eugene O'Neill, writer, d. November 27, 1953



I am curious to see what happens in the next world to one who dies unshriven.

Giving his reasons for refusing to see a priest as he lay dying.

~~ Pietro Perugino, Italian painter, d. 1523



They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . .

Killed in battle during US Civil War.

~~ General John Sedgwick, Union Commander, d. 1864



I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . .

~~ Dylan Thomas, poet, d. 1953



Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.

~~ Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, d. 1923



I die hard but am not afraid to go.

~~ George Washington, US President, d. December 14, 1799



Curtain! Fast music! Light! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good, the show looks good!

~~ Florenz Ziegfeld, showman, d. July 22, 1932

 

[sth]

Those are excellent quotes Bri. I wanted to add a couple favorites.



I love the Shawshank Redemption I have a couple of favorite quotes from it.



One is from Red (Morgan Freeman): Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'. That's goddamn right.



Second from Andy (Tim Robbins): Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.



One of my personal heroes is Bobby Kennedy. I think the speech he made the night MLK was shot was the most powerful he made. RFK: What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country

 

[winos5]

Careful, words of encouragement are an awful lot like prayer or beseeching a higher power. I do like the death bed quotes though.

 

[winos5]

I like deathbed quotes.





"This is no time to make new enemies." - Voltaire, when asked on his deathbed to forswear Satan



"Dear me, I believe I am becoming a god. An emperor ought at least to die on his feet."

Vespasian (9-79 AD), Roman emperor



"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish dramatist. As he lay dying in Paris



Waiting are they? Waiting are they? Well--let 'em wait.

In response to an attending doctor who attempted to comfort him by saying, "General, I fear the angels are waiting for you."

~~ Ethan Allen, American Revolutionary general



I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.

~~ Humphrey Bogart, actor, d. January 14, 1957



I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct.

~~ Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702



Et tu, Brute? (even you brutus?)

Assassinated.

~~ Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman Rebel and dictator, d. 44 BC



I am still alive!

Stabbed to death by his own guards - (as reported by Roman historian Tacitus)

~~ Caligula, Roman Emperor, d.41 AD



Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.

To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.

~~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977



I am not the least afraid to die.

~~ Charles Darwin, d. April 19, 1882



All my possessions for a moment of time.

~~ Elizabeth I, Queen of England, d. 1603



I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.

~~ Richard Feynman, physicist, d. 1988



I know you have come to kill me. Shoot coward, you are only going to kill a man.

Facing his assassin, Mario Teran, a Bolivian soldier.

~~ Ernesto "Che" Guevara, d. October 9, 1967



Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers. (when asked if he wanted some fruit or flowers)

~~ Walter De La Mare, writer, d. 1956



Go on, get out - last words are for fools who haven't said enough.

To his housekeeper, who urged him to tell her his last words so she could write them down for posterity.

~~ Karl Marx, revolutionary, d. 1883



I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room - and God damn it - died in a hotel room.

~~ Eugene O'Neill, writer, d. November 27, 1953



I am curious to see what happens in the next world to one who dies unshriven.

Giving his reasons for refusing to see a priest as he lay dying.

~~ Pietro Perugino, Italian painter, d. 1523



They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . .

Killed in battle during US Civil War.

~~ General John Sedgwick, Union Commander, d. 1864



I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . .

~~ Dylan Thomas, poet, d. 1953



Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.

~~ Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, d. 1923



I die hard but am not afraid to go.

~~ George Washington, US President, d. December 14, 1799



Curtain! Fast music! Light! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good, the show looks good!

~~ Florenz Ziegfeld, showman, d. July 22, 1932

Last words make for great quote material. Have you looked at last words of the condemned? There is some gold buried in those. My favorite might be;



"Kiss My Ass" - John Wayne Gacy ? Macbrely prophetic that after being convicted and condemned for raping and killing 33 men his last words would be to ask for a rim job.

 

[bri]

Careful, words of encouragement are an awful lot like prayer or beseeching a higher power. I do like the death bed quotes though.

My use of the term inspirational was not intended to mean religious. There are many ways to inspire people and offer them comfort and hope. I don't feel any of mine have a religious connection. And although this wasn't created as a bible quote thread, I have no problem with people posting them if they find meaning from them. This is a give and take thread. People can offer their own pearls of wisdom and take away what they want from here. It's all subjective to each individual and what they value and believe in. It was definitely not meant to be controversial.

 

[Ymono37]

"'No regrets,' that's my motto... well that and 'everyone wang-chung tonight'" - Zach Galifianakis in "Out Cold"

 

[bri]

"'No regrets,' that's my motto... well that and 'everyone wang-chung tonight'" - Zach Galifianakis in "Out Cold"

A couple of those were meant for you.

 

[LordKOTL]

Different things inspire different people. Here are some of mine:



“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.”

~Bill Waterson



"The optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist knows it."

~J Robert Oppenheimer



"Religion is the Opiate of the Masses"

~Karl Marx



"We may prefer to think that we are fallen angels, but in reality we are risen apes"

~Desmond Morris



"Critics are ike eunuchs in a harem: They know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves."

~Brendan Behan



"The reason the mainstream is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow"

~George Carlin



"Man is certainly crazy. He could not make a mite, yet he makes gods by the dozen"

~Michel de Montaigne

 

[winos5]

My use of the term inspirational was not intended to mean religious. There are many ways to inspire people and offer them comfort and hope. I don't feel any of mine have a religious connection. And although this wasn't created as a bible quote thread, I have no problem with people posting them if they find meaning from them. This is a give and take thread. People can offer their own pearls of wisdom and take away what they want from here. It's all subjective to each individual and what they value and believe in. It was definitely not meant to be controversial.

Should have ueds durple font again....

 

[bubbleheadchief]

Move your fat ass so I can see the TV.

 

[bri]

"When you go through life long enough you find out what the flavor is and it sure ain't vanilla" A line from the movie Untamed Heart.