Words, Words, Words

In case you were unaware, I love words. I love language (hello, I majored in French), and I love what we can do with it. You can string some of the simplest words together to create a powerful message that punches you in the gut and leaves you breathless. Words can bring great joy, or they can draw tears from your eyes. Words are why I love to read great literature (Thomas Hardy- ugh, be still my soul!), and they are why I write.

Today's challenge was to share my favorite quote. I will share two, since these are the words I repeat to myself most often. These are words I try to live by, though I am not perfect and falter quite often. But when I fall, I repeat these words to myself. When I have doubt, these are the words that give me courage and strength.

First: "Seek and ye shall find." - in part, Matthew 7:7 

This quote has a dual meaning to me. First, the obvious, given the context of Jesus' teachings to his followers- keep seeking the divine, and the divine is what you will find. Keep looking for God, and you will find Him. I take it further and fill in the blank: seek happiness and happiness is what you will find. And then I turn things around, showing that Jesus was speaking a simple truth that applies to anyone, no matter what their religion: whatever you look for is what you will find. If you look for the bad, you will find the bad. If you look for the good, you will find the good. Think about it- if you go out while you are in a bad mood and you meet new people, you will not like those people if you are looking for what it wrong with them. But when you go out with the intention of finding the good in each person, you will find it. Because we will find whatever it is that we seek. Wise words.

Second: "This above all: to thine own self be true 

               And it must follow, as the night the day,

                         Thou canst not then be false to any man." -Polonius to Laertes in Hamlet

Hamlet is a wonderful play, and if you have never read it, I suggest you do. If you don't want to read the whole thing, then at the very least, read Polonius' speech to his son, Laertes. It is full of fatherly wisdom- words we could all live by. My favorite passage from the monologue is this bit, which I often repeat to myself (simply, to thine own self be true). Each of us has one life to live, and it would be a life wasted if we lived it according to someone else's idea of life. Further, sometimes the thing we know to be right is not necessarily the thing that the crowd wants to do. We have to dig deep into ourselves, examine our truth and live accordingly. When we do this, which is a daring thing to do, we can do no wrong. It is my belief that we are put on this Earth to simply be ourselves and live an authentic life, with integrity. This is what Polonius tells his son in Hamlet. This is what I tell myself when I have doubts about my life and my decisions. Be true to yourself. Be bold.

This was a difficult challenge in that I have so many favorite quotes, so I'm considering making this a monthly feature on my blog- let me know what you think! Also, I'd love to hear your favorite quotes- please share in the comment section below!

2 comments self love, wisdom

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