Words | Catalyst Quotes

Archive for the category “Words”

21 Mar 2019

“Life is a Book / Read and Be Nice to Each Other”

“A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic.” (Carl Sagan)

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“I read a book one day and my whole life was changed.” (Orhan Pamuk, The New Life)

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“All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk.” (Lemony Snicket)

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“Reading is like thinking, like praying, like talking to a friend, like expressing your ideas, like listening to other people’s ideas, like listening to music, like looking at the view, like taking a walk on the beach.” (Roberto Bolaño, 2666)

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“’Life is a book, and there are a thousand pages I have not read. I would read them together with you, as many as I can, before I die …’

She put her hand against his chest, just over his heart, and felt its beat against her palm, a unique time signature that was all its own.

‘I only wish you would not speak of dying,’ she said. ‘But even for that, yes, I know how you are with your words, and, Will – I love all of them. Every word you say. The silly ones, the mad ones, the beautiful ones, and the ones that are only for me. I love them, and I love you.’” (Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess)

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“A library is a place where you can lose your innocence without losing your virginity.” (Germaine Greer)

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“People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.” (Saul Bellow)

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“The only way to do all the things you’d like to do is to read.” (Tom Clancy)

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“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” (C.S. Lewis)

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”Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.” (Gustave Flaubert)

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“Why can’t people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?” (David Baldacci, The Camel Club)

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Posted in Attitude, Books / Reading, Challenges, Change, Courage, Hope, Inspiration, Life, Words | Leave a comment

26 Jun 2014

“Words and Deeds. To Say Something is Easy; To Do Something is Difficult”

“Words and deeds make the consummate person. It is to voice, what is good and to do what is honorable; the first evidences a good head, the second a good heart. Together they give birth to a great soul. Words are the ghosts of deeds: the former are the ewes, the latter the rams. Of greater moment to be cheered, than to be the cheerleader. To say something is easy, but to do something is difficult. Achievement is the substance of life, and praise, its decoration. Greatness in action endures, greatness in words passes. For deeds are the fruits of the mind, which when wise, make triumphant.” (Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Wordly Wisdom, 1647)

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“The person in life that you will always be with the most is yourself. Because even when you are with others, you are still with yourself, too! When you wake up in the morning, you are with yourself, lying in bed at night you are with yourself, walking down the street in the sunlight you are with yourself. What kind of person do you want to walk down the street with? What kind of person do you want to wake up in the morning with? What kind of person do you want to see at the end of the day before you fall asleep? Because that person is yourself, and it’s your responsibility to be that person you want to be with. I know I want to spend my life with a person who knows how to let things go, who’s not full of hate, who’s able to smile and be carefree. So that’s who I have to be.” (C. JoyBell C.)

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“If you want to interact effectively with me, to influence me – your spouse, your child, your neighbor, your boss, your worker, your friend – your first need to understand me. And you can’t do that with technique alone. If I sense you’re using some technique, I sense duplicity, manipulation. I wonder why you’re using it, what your motives are. And I don’t feel safe enough to open myself up to you.” (Stephen R. Covey, Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People)

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“Live your dreams now to any degree that you can. With every purchase. Every decision. Every hello and goodbye. Every assignment. Every conversation. Every meal. Every morning, afternoon, and evening. And never, ever, ever look back. Reframe every thought, word, and deed from the perspective of the person you’ve always dreamed you’d be, as if your life was already as you’ve always dreamed it would be. Die to yesterday’s illusions and be reborn to the truth of your vision.

And let’s just see if you can handle the torrent of treasures I send your way. Thrilling you is what I live for.

Your greatest admirer, biggest fan, and truest friend.

(signed) The Universe” (Mike Dooley, ‘Notes from the Universe’, 6.20.14)

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“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” (Oscar Wilde)

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26 Feb 2014

“The Power of Words – Part II”

“Because the truth cannot be accurately conveyed in words, it is pointless to query one man’s opinion of the truth with another collection of words.” (Ramana Maharshi)

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“We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.” (Abigail Adams)

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“You do not write your life with words. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.” (Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls)

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“It’s important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi)

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“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” (Rumi)

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“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” (St. Francis of Assisi)

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“Our words are useless unless they come from the bottom of the heart.” (Mother Teresa)

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26 Feb 2014

“The Power of Words – Part I”

“Words do two major things: They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.” (Jim Rohn)

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“Words can be twisted into any shape. Promises can be made to lull the heart and seduce the soul. In the final analysis, words mean nothing. They are labels we give things in an effort to wrap our puny little brains around their underlying natures, when ninety-nine percent of the time the totality of the reality is an entirely different beast. The wisest man is the silent one. Examine his actions. Judge him by them.” (Karen Marie Monig)

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“There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.” (Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale)

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“Words should be scattered like seed: no matter how small the seed may be, if it has found favorable ground, it unfolds its strength.” (Seneca)

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“Every word carries a vibration that sent out, comes back. A cutting word destroys what a sweet word heals. One spoken word can make or mar the destiny of a being. When heart is put into a word, the word encompasses the totality of love and brings love back. When a word is without heart, it is cold and empty and will bring back cold and emptiness.” (Cheryl Canfield)

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“It’s amazing how words can do that; just shred your insides apart. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me – such bullshit.” (Lauren Oliver, Delirium)

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“Now if these words are helpful to you, put them into practice. But if they aren’t helpful, then there’s no need for them.” (Dalai Lama)

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