Quotes About Perspective

Browning, whose verse is famously obscure, was once approached by a woman who asked the meaning of a particular stanza. "Madame," he answered, "when I wrote that only God and I knew what it meant. Now, only God knows.

Anyone too undisciplined, too self-righteous or too self-centered to live in the world as it is has a tendency to idealize a world which ought to be. But no matter what political or religious direction such idealists choose, their visions always share one telling characteristic: in their utopias, heavens or brave new worlds, their greatest personal weakness suddenly appears to be a strength.

Thus did my siblings and I learn one of the hard lessons of life: the best way to strip the allure and dreaminess from a lifelong dream is, very often, simply to have it come true.

Punctuationally speaking, wonder is a period at the end of a statement we've long taken for granted, suddenly looking up and seeing the sinuous curve of a tall black hat on its head, and realizing it was a question mark all along.

the best way to strip the allure and dreaminess from a lifelong dream is, very often, simply to have it come true.

I'll just quote myself for now; actually, I'll quote what a good friend of mine, David Jenkins responded to a post I made when I was feeling 'pissy.' "Deep thoughts (come) from a deep well. Society is useful because when we see ourselves reflected through others we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves." ~ David Jenkins, 2013

Focus less on whether or not you win in the end. You still have to be sharp; that's why you prepare well. But once you've prepared, you need to calm down. And you can. You know why? Because it really doesn't matter that much.

In a world that contains tragedies, we must realize that they're vastly outnumbered by blessings.

He thought it disproportionate in its violence considering the fragility of us.

A key difference between a dialogue and an ordinary discussion is that, within the latter people usually hold relatively fixed positions and argue in favor of their views as they try to convince others to change. At best this may produce agreement or compromise, but it does not give rise to anything creative.

Empathy's not standing over a hole looking down and saying you understand. Empathy is having been in that hole yourself.

Light never shined on a man like me and that was certain. In a lot of ways, that made men like Daddy the lucky ones to have only ever known the darkness. Knowing only darkness, a man doesn't have to get his heart broken in search of the light. I envied him for that.

Christian theology must free the gospel not only to specify the answers but also to shape the questions.

We see trees - they see only posts and beams.

But like it or not, change happens and, like most things in life, doesn't really happen /to us/ - it just happens.

Your loss is not a test, a lesson, something to handle, a gift, or a blessing. Loss is simply what happens to you in life. Meaning is what you make happen.

While death may look like a loss to the living, the last hours of a dying person may very well be filled with fullness rather than emptiness.

Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50 000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme of things, even if it's meant I don't drive a fancy car and can't afford grand vacations.

more money doesn't mean more better. It just means more.

The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence because you don't have to mow it. - David L. Bonar, First said by me circ. September 26, 1992 (about age 50).

Mr. Nath and I talked further about the pilgrimage. Examining his hand he said, 'I wonder what it will look like after I finish this pilgrimage.' What do you mean?' I asked. 'Do you expect this pilgrimage to change your hand?' It must,' he replied. 'This pilgrimage changes one's life. The change must be evident in the lines of one's hands.

I don't need to know. So neither do you." LB snorted. "Funny how the people who say that are never the ones with parachutes on.

Think about it: when we read, we soul travel, in the sense that we join, or enter, the consciousness of another human. We empathize—we have to—because our experience is enlarged.

We live in an era when everyone wants to tell his or her story, but there is no real sense of what story means anymore.