What I like most about good books are the nuggets of philosophy found scattered throughout their pages – nuggets that cause me to think or re-consider my own attitudes.
Though expressed by fictional characters, such nuggets also offer insight into the personal philosophies of the writer.
The simply named *The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge is full of such nuggets, most often thought or said by Lucilla, the Eliot family matriarch.
Following are some of the pearls of wisdom I gathered while reading this first book of Goudge’s Eliot Family Chronicles. The trilogy also includes The Herb of Grace and The Heart of the Family. Read more…
Evangeline Lilly, cast member of Lost television program
Quoted in Women’s Health magazine, June 2009.
Why I Like This.
I see a road extending so far you can’t see the end. If we think we can’t be happy until we reach a certain level of wealth, we’ll almost certainly never reach the goal. For when we reach the first level of wealth, we’ll see that there’s still more road ahead.
And while we’re on that long road, we pass by the flowers, streams, sunsets and the smiling friends and family that could have provided us that happiness all along.
Whenever I’m feeling financially confined, lacking freedom to come and go and do as I please, I feel better remembering something our mother used to say: Be thankful if your problems can be solved just by having more money.
Because money is inadequate when it comes to solving many of our problems. Only generous amounts of love, forgiveness, patience, time, and acceptance can hold a family together, mend estranged relationships, or heal a broken heart.
– Jennifer Bryan at Wedding Reception in Houston
In a conversation about getting a (small!) tattoo
June 27, 2009
Why I Like This:
It’s a reminder to be patient with life. We don’t have to do it all now. I remember when this occurred to me, though maybe not in those words.
I must admit that at times I would view my four growing children as interruptions of my work – domestic and otherwise – until I would remember that they were my work – and pleasure. To view their needs and wants as interruptions interfered with that pleasure. Read more…
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Jeremiah 29:21
The Old Testament
Why I like this.
This portion of a letter sent from the Old Testament prophet to those in exile under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon struck me as good advice to anyone who is in a circumstance not of their own choosing. Jeremiah is telling them to make the best of it. Read more…
Pop-up Proverbs are sayings that catch my fancy as I go about my day. Some have surprising sources; all of them have made me stop and think – and maybe smile a little.
#5 – Aging
Grace: “Mother, there’s a splendid new book on avoiding old age. You ought to read it.”
Abbie Deal: “I’m only sixty-two, Grace, and I don’t see any signs of senility. You can’t avoid old age, but you don’t need to think about it.”
From A Lantern in Her Hand, page 221
by Bess Streeter Aldrich
Pop-up Proverbs are sayings that catch my fancy as I go about my day. Some have surprising sources; all of them have made me stop and think – and maybe smile a little.
#1 – Gossip:
“When you’re talking about me, you’re leaving someone else alone.”
My dad – Bruce Kitt 1921-2007
As quoted by my mother
#2 – Fear
“It is not failure itself that holds you back; it is the fear of failure that paralyzes you.”
