Quotes About Belief

To believe in luck, you must believe that the universe is a roulette wheel and that instead of paying out to us what we have earned, it pays out only what it wishes. But it is not a spinning wheel of chance, it is a work of art, complete and framed by eternity. He said that because we live in time, we think that the past is baked and served and eaten, that the present is coming out of the oven in continuous courses, and that the future is not yet even in the mixing bowl.

But sometimes I knew things with my heart that my mind could not explain.

Once, when cornered by a pinwheel-eyed man who insisted that the mayor of Los Angeles was not human but a robot controlled by the audioanimatronics department at Disneyland, Joe had lowered his voice and said, with nervous sincerity, "Yes, we've known about that for years. But if we print a word of it, the people at Disney will kill us all." He had spoken with such conviction that the nutball had exploded backward and fled.

Maybe you're not a believer, but if you're honest, you'll have to agree that something is wrong with this place. Senseless violence, corrupting envy, greed, blind hatred, and willful ignorance seem to be proof that Earth has gone haywire, but so is the absurdity that we see everywhere.

wonder sometimes why those who theorize about the human mind can so easily believe in the existence of things they cannot see or measure, or in any meaningful way confirm as real—such as the id, the ego, the unconscious I—but nevertheless dismiss as superstitious those who believe the body has a soul. The woman brought the horse to a halt

I am an optimist about our species. I assume God is, too, for otherwise He would have scrubbed us off the planet a long time ago and would have started over.

Perseverance is impossible if we don't permit ourselves to hope.

We can approach belief from an intellectual path, but in the end, God must be taken on faith. Proofs are for things of this world, things in time and of time, not beyond time.

An abundance of pessimists might bend reality to Armageddon just by expecting

The next one's also from Thoreau. 'If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

To believe in luck, you must believe that the universe is a roulette wheel and that instead of paying out to us what we have earned, it pays out only what it wishes.

As for the butter-side-up day: Each morning, he makes one extra slice of toast with breakfast, lays it on the kitchen table, and in a contrived-casual way, he knocks it to the floor. If it lands butter side up, he eats it with pleasure, confident that the day will be good from end to end. If it lands butter side down, however, Malcolm throws the toast away, wipes up the butter, and goes about his day with heightened awareness of potential danger.

Surrender to fear is an invitation to doubt.

Faith is a kind of love, you know. Love of what is unseen but certain. Love makes us strong and brave.

He's a hollow man, he believes in nothing. Hollow men are vulnerable to anyone who offers them something that might fill the void and make them feel less empty.

She said you need to eat well, say prayers without fail each morning and night, and avoid drinking strong spirits. One problem. Drinking strong spirits is how I pray.

Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries. If you don't think life is mysterious, if you believe you have it all mapped out, you aren't paying attention or you've anesthetized yourself with booze or drugs, or with a comforting ideology.

Because when you're doing it, then it's just something you do. But if you talk about it, then it's something you are

My parents didn't raise me to ask God for blessings or benefits. For guidance, yes. For the strength to do the right thing, yes. Not for a winning lottery number, not for love or health, or happiness. Prayer is not a gimme list; God isn't Santa Claus.

rational optimism is required of anyone who hopes to be a survivor

Quick now, here, now, always, if we are in a condition of complete simplicity (as the poet said), hope and trust will more reliably keep a man afloat, while fear is more likely to sink him.

I don't know whether to call a medical doctor or psychiatrist," she said to Bailey, "but I refuse to call an exorcist.

The best weapons against evil were hope, optimism, determination, and faith.

hope and trust will more reliably keep a man afloat, while fear is more like to sink him.