Life according to...

I've been tagged again. However, movie quotes are not my forte because I've never really been a movie buff. Reading has always been one of my favorite activities. It relaxes me. If you let me choose between reading the book and watching the movie version, I'm more likely to choose the book. I guess I look at books the way Anna looks at the movies because I especially like reading books that have "take away messages". Of course I like reading feel-good romance and exciting mysteries, too, but I love books that give you food for the soul. When I come across a phrase, a sentence, sometimes even a paragraph that I feel strongly about, I make it a point to write it down. I have a whole notebook full, but below is a short list of my favorite nuggets of truth:

LIFE ACCORDING TO...

• 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9 -- "We are often troubled, but not crushed. Sometimes in doubt, but never in despair. There are many enemies, but we are never without a friend. And although badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed." -- I love that. I've had that quote with me since high school and it has always helped me to see the glass half full instead of half empty.



• J. Powell -- "What I am at any given moment in the process of my becoming a person will be determined by my relationship with those who love me or refuse to love me, with those whom I love or refuse to love." -- For a long time, I saw it that way too. Now, I have a different take on things, but it's still one of my favorite quotes. (Read about my take on this here.)


• Robert Frost -- "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -- enough said!


• Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) -- "It is wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can't have the one you want." -- I admit I'm guilty of that at times. I think that when we move out of our comfort zones and we are opened to the world's infinite possibilities, it becomes easy to take the simple joys of life for granted. Just because we know that there IS more out there, we WANT more, even if we don't necessarily NEED more.


• PSI Basic -- "If the intention is clear, the mechanism will appear" -- This was the first seminar I attended that really made a difference in my life and the way I looked at life. There are so many quotables from that seminar, but I think this one tops my list. It's gotten me this far.


• Hodding Carter -- "There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is ROOTS, the other, WINGS." -- The first time I read this, I thought...Hmmm...this must be my parents' motto. They did an excellent job of making sure I not only had my feet planted firmly in what matters most (God, family, friends, love), but that I was free to aim high and fly. If ever I failed at anything, my roots nourish me and help me go at it again.


• Fr. Gerry del Pinado, SVD -- "Not getting what we want though does not mean that God never answers prayers. God responds in some other ways. We pray but we allow God, in all His wisdom, to dispense His grace as He knows best." -- This reflects another line that I like from Fr. Flor Camacho, SVD, "If and when our petitions to God are not immediately answered, let us not lose heart. God's timing is always better than ours. His answer will come. Yes, at times, in very unexpected ways. Trust Him always." -- Amen to that! My life, especially the challenges of the past five years, is but a simple testimonial to these quotes.