Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.
The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.
You can always give something, even if it is only kindness.
The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.
Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.
We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.
Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experience.
What if I should discover that the poorest of the beggars and the most impudent of offenders are all within me; and that I stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I, myself, am the enemy who must be loved – what then?
We know that the wildest and most moving dramas are played not in the theatre but in the hearts of ordinary men and women.
We need more understanding of human nature, because the only real danger that exists is man himself.
There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.
In every adult there lurks a child – an eternal child, something that is always becoming, is never completed, and calls for unceasing care, attention, and education. That is the part of the personality which wants to develop and become whole.
Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.
Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
Smile if you want a smile from another face.
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living.