"Virtue is not left to stand alone."

"Virtue is not left to stand alone. 
He who practices it will have neighbors."

~ Confucius 

“The atheism and nihilism of my earlier years now seems shallow, and even a bit cocky.”

“The atheism and nihilism of my earlier years now seems shallow, and even a bit cocky.”

"My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers."

~ Anne Rice

https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2021/12/22/anne-rice-obituary-spirituality-vampire-242096

"Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures."

"Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures."

~ Vincent van Gogh

quote:

"With his spectacular paintings hanging in such venerable institutions as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and New York’s Museum of Modern Art, it is hard to imagine that Vincent van Gogh ever experienced failure. But in reality, the Dutch post-impressionist artist went through overwhelming hardship in his life, both personally and professionally, and only found global fame and success after his death in 1890. If Van Gogh could see the silver lining of life’s dark storm clouds, then so can we."

quote from Inspiring Quotes email, December 23, 2021

Maya Angelou’s writing practice

"If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be."

~ Maya Angelou

quote:

Maya Angelou’s life was anything but normal. At the age of 16, she became the first Black woman to drive a San Francisco cable car. Later, after training as a dancer, actress, and singer, she toured with the musical “Porgy and Bess.” She also recorded an album of calypso music, wrote and acted in plays, composed film soundtracks, and organized protests against racial discrimination. Though she is now known primarily as a poet and autobiographer, she never limited herself to just one identity. 

Even Angelou’s writing practice might seem a bit eccentric: She would check herself into a hotel room in the morning with a legal pad, deck of cards, Bible, thesaurus, and a bottle of sherry, and write until early afternoon. The goal, as she put it, was to “enchant” herself: to "relive the agony, the anguish,” and to feel at last the ecstatic relief of telling her truth.

quote from Inspiring Quotes email, December 4, 2021

the affairs of your government

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government,
then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools."

~ Plato