An antique chandelier lit up by candles. I believe this to be both useful and beautiful. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
These paragraphs were taken out of the weekly column I write for my home town newspaper. Taken at random–they are complete thoughts unto themselves without the context of the full article:
1. “There are only two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein
If, as Einstein says, there are the only two ways to live your life, I am opting to live as “though everything is a miracle.”
2. If you want to live simply, you could follow the edicts of Loretta Moore, who stated that “There are only two things in life that I have to do: breathe and quit breathing, everything else is optional.” That in a nutshell certainly describes life at its simplest, but it also provides us with all kinds of options. I think the point she was making is that we have choices. So the over-riding philosophy of choosing the simple life is just one option. It should not be a crusade, religion, or movement—it should be a choice. I am not opting out of the idea of a simple life, but I do think there can be a balance.
3. The philosophy I follow can be summed up in the words of Christopher Morely, who believes that “There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.” Couple that with what Editor and Publisher, Alexander Chalmers says are the three grand essentials of happiness: “something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for”, and I think I have the makings for a life, be it simple, complicated, or somewhere in between.
4. I think that the author, William Norris got it right when he said: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it. Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
I think he has hit the right balance–what do you think?
Quotes are from derived from Google
“something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for”
Such happiness!
isn’t that such a perfect synopsis?
I really like these. They’re good reminders that life does not have to be, and shouldn’t be, just drudgery. Also, the chandelier is stunning.
it added a bit of elegance to inelegant prose didn’t it?
Sorry let me continue:
Life philosophies are perfect are like this my friend
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
all we have to do now–is live by those wise words
William Norris, he was/is right on about have nothing in your house that is neither or not useful or beautiful. If I followed that advice I would be organized and have a lot less clutter in all the closets, cabinets, bookshelves, etc. In other words- I could throw away more that half of what is in this house and I would be well on my way to a better life- I think.
One last thought- surely you put a lot of muscle into this post.. So clever of you to come up with these quotes and then add your thoughts. Very nice. ( is VERY one of those over used words?)
I am on a journey to become organized (as we have talked about before), and if I, too, took Norris’s advice I would be much better off
very is my very overused word–we are compadres
We must strive to come up with a substitute for very. But, I am not sure if I want to use another word.
I like very–I just want to use it less–just like I need to use just less – ha ha
Love the Einstein quote! I’ll definitely add that one to my collection.
that is what your post was all about yesterday–one cannot have too many quotes
Love the one about beautiful and useful! Some things can be both, but I really believe that a thing does not have to be useful to be beautiful. Not sure if this holds true for people…everyone needs to have some use, some purpose, right?
And the idea of balance…what a never-ending challenge it is to find balance! I seek it every day, but so rarely find it. I like the quotes you chose. The one from Einstein is another favorite. I choose the miracle point of view as well…the only way to live! ~ Sheila
I think we could apply it to people–being useful and beautiful on the inside (beauty on the outside is so fleeting) are good things to aspire to
Balance — a goal that we may never reach, but reach for
All the quotes are great. I especially like Einstein’s and it’s a good reminder not to take things for granted (and thus live as though everything is a miracle). I also agree with Christopher Morely about living life your own way as being a success. Too many people I know follow a path that’s not necessarily what they want but do it out of other people’s expectations or for the sake of stability. But I don’t think any of us would be truly happy unless we do things we actually want to do.
I think you could not be more right–if we live just for others, we never find our true selves
I love this so much!
that means a lot!
Love all the quotes. All are inspirational. This is my fave: “There are only two things in life that I have to do: breathe and quit breathing, everything else is optional.” Never thought about it that way, but yes! Now I have choices and I won’t mess up my life plan.
it is freeing isn’t it–to know that we have choices–we just have to make them
William Norris nailed it. You have given alot of food for thought here– a good balance of quotes to live our lives by. I love a simple, peaceful well balanced, life filled with love and kindness. This Post is an excellent start to my day
we all need good ways to start our days don’t we–glad you liked the quotes —
It’s all about balance. And moderation, I think.
such simple answers–why so hard to achieve I wonder?
Much needed words for me this day.. feeling a bit out of sorts and these help put things into perspective.. Merci!
out of sorts is no fun–glad I could help a little
I love this! And I agree–I much prefer to see the world as being filled with miracles!
it is a better way to look at life isn’t it?
When someone asks, “How was your weekend?” … tell them three things happened … I wake up on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday … thus all else is downhill.
that is one way to approach it– then they will hopefully stop asking
I did get a lot of rolling eyes.
ha ha
i heard a version with a fourth requirement
Something to eat
Then you can fit the rest around that
that is a very important one to have left out–I am going to add it
He hit the nail on the head. I ask myself, “Do you love it?” and “Do you need it?” If the answer is no, I toss it out. And, I’m not just talking about physical things . . . it has to do with habits and the people I surround myself.
it is so true that the people we surround ourselves with make a total impact on our lives–and we have to be careful about this
as for habits — it is the bad ones that are so clingy
Great post! So many good things to ponder. I like the Christopher Morely quote – I like the idea of living my own life and calling that success. There all really good, though.
glad you liked them
[...] the topic of miracles, LouAnn posted another great quote on her blog, On the Homefront, this [...]
perfect
lovely one word comment – thanks
Wonderful quotes, as usual, LouAnn!