Do what is right, not what is easy nor what is popular.
None but ourselves can free our minds.
The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.
I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, He will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' rather He will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?
I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.
And, in the end The love you take is equal to the love you make.
Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.
For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.
The question is not what you look at, but what you see.
Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.
Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.
I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.
In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?
Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.
I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.
Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that's what makes you strong.
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.