I never thought that the selection of phrases I made over the years could be a collection, but if I look closely, I chose these phrases because they have inspired moments in my life.
Many years ago, I've lost count of how many, but I think it was around 2010, that I started to look for, or find without looking for, phrases from thinkers that somehow connected with me. Phrases that I think came at a special time in my life, phrases that motivated me to continue on a path that I had recently started.
I remember that time 2010-2012 was a dark time, where I asked myself a lot of questions and the answers were slow in coming. Whether I lived in an image, or in a text or even in films, phrases came to me. In them I often saw signs and in others I simply thought they were great phrases.
What I did was to write them down in a notebook and then there were so many that I had my Word file where I wrote them down together with the thinker who had said them.
That's how one day I realised that I had too many and that, on the other hand, I could discover that I preferred certain authors, that I made collections of phrases according to thinkers, philosophers and I became a fan of famous phrases from history.
Among my favourite thinkers are Einstein, Plato and Aristotle. But of course there are many more, that's a lot of years of writing down quotes. And of course I won't bring hundreds of quotes here, only the ones I like the most and with which I fully agree.
Who doesn't know Einstein, the great scientist, but apart from being a scientist he was a thinker, in my opinion, who spoke many truths and sometimes even uncomfortable truths. I am a big fan of him. And here are some of his favourite quotes of mine.
"Setting an example is not the main way to influence others; it's the only way."
"There are two things that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; of the former I'm not so sure."
"In times of crisis, only imagination is more important than knowledge."
"There are two ways of living your life: one is as if nothing is a miracle, the other is as if everything is a miracle."
Other phrases I love are those of Plato some like these. The first of these phrases I remember I used to wear a sign to identify myself in high school, believe it or not I speak very little in large groups.
- "The greatest declaration of love is the one that is not made; the man who feels much speaks little."
- "The human body is the chariot; the self, the man who drives it; thought is the reins, and feelings, the horses."
I also love some of Socrates' quotes and have selected two from my collection. I identify with these phrases because, knowing nothing, I have a great thirst for constant learning.
- "True wisdom lies in recognising one's own ignorance."
- "I only know that I know nothing."
I love the wisdom that comes out of some or rather all of Mahatma Gandhi's phrases, the only way or the only thing you can change is yourself, the rest comes later. Living every moment and every detail is important, I always say these things and I think I agree with him.
- "Live as if you were going to die tomorrow; learn as if the world were going to last forever."
- "If you want to change the world, change yourself."
I grouped these three phrases together because they talk about thoughts, words and silence, things I always talk about in my posts. It is amazing how many of these thinkers have influenced me and have helped me in life.
- "The wise man never says all that he thinks, but always thinks all that he says." (Aristotle)
- "I think, therefore I am." (René Descartes)
- "Never break silence except to improve it." (Beethoven)
In life, we all make mistakes and that is human, the important thing is to always learn, I think that's why I like these phrases so much.
- "It is human to err and foolish to remain in error." (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
- "The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything." (Goethe)
How many times have I heard similar things, such as that the important thing is not to give but to teach, that everything that happens to us and that hurts does not help us on the way, it strengthens us and we come out more evolved and that it is negative to complain, it is better to act and think positively. Here are three phrases that speak of that.
- "If you give fish to a hungry man you nourish him for a day. If you teach him to fish, you nourish him for a lifetime." (Lao Tse)
- "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." (Friedrich Nietzsche)
- "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist hopes it will change; the realist trims the sails." (William George Ward)
But not only these people from history have motivated and inspired many moments of my life, but I have found phrases in many other places, for example, when I started studying metaphysics I found some spectacular ones that I later saw reflected in very special films.
That's why from the great selection I made at the beginning of preparing this post, I will only leave you with a few, otherwise it would be a testamentary post.
One of my favourite films is Matrix, for revealing many things in it. I leave you with one of my favourite quotes. We can only be guides for others, not do things for them, that's what stays with me from this sentence.
Matrix (1999)
- "I can only show you the door, you have to walk through it."
I love films that talk about dreams and the realisation of them, so I leave you with this beautiful sentence.
The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)
- "Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Not even me. If you have a dream, you have to protect it."
Rocky is one of the most motivational films in history and I love these quotes that I have collected.
- "Nothing is real if you don't believe in it."
- "You don't get to the top by surpassing others, but by surpassing yourself."
- "Remember, the mind is your best muscle. Big arms can move boulders, but words can move mountains."
There is a movie that I saw many years ago and maybe the first time someone sees it they don't pay attention to its teachings, but they are very profound that's why it's one of my favorite motivational movies, it's called Pacific Warrior and these are some of its phrases.
- "Your fears are not walls, but obstacles. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it."
- "The secrets of the universe are imprinted on your mind."
- "The secrets of the universe are imprinted in the cells of your body."
- "A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds love in what he does."
- "You can live a lifetime without ever being awake."
There are many, many more, but I think I made a sub-collection within the larger collection I have. If one or more of the phrases resonated for you I'd love to know in the comments. I love this collection of quotes and this initiative.
Thank you all so much for reading this far, I send you a big hello. See you soon.
Amonet.
All images were made by me in Photoshop CS6.
The photograph in the thumbnail is my property.
