Inspirational Quotes
Quotes are little parcels of wordy nourishment – food for the heart, mind and soul. The right quote at the right moment can really lift your spirits, spur you on, or put a comforting arm around you. They can also help to express your feelings when you’re just not able to find the right words yourself. I always keep one or two quotes pinned up for inspiration, changing them each time I stumble upon something new and relevant. I also use quotes during funeral ceremonies, and it’s lovely to see how a few words can have such a big impact.
Here are some of my favourites. Many of the best quotes are from people whose actions spoke as loudly as their words, so I’ve attached a description of each author. And if you have any gems you want to share, I’d love to see them!
“It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”
Psychiatrist, humanitarian, hospice pioneer and author of the landmark book ‘On Death and Dying’ in 1969. A truly inspirational woman who worked extensively with the dying and bereaved.
“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”
A poet whose work often featured death and immortality. When she herself died in 1886, Dickinson requested that her coffin be carried though fields of buttercups before being buried in the family plot at West Cemetery, Massachusetts.
“Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.”
Author, clergyman, poet, diplomat and professor, Van Dyke believed in sympathy for humankind and companionship with nature.
“Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.”
American journalist and radio broadcaster, Thompson was one of the few women news commentators on radio during the 1930s.
“You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.”
Folk singer and songwriter, human rights, civil rights, nonviolence and environmental activist and absolute heroine of mine. Baez was honoured by Amnesty International in 2011 for Outstanding Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights.
“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.”
United States Supreme Court Justice from 1902 to 1932, Holmes fought during the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, Antietam and Fredericksburg.
“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
American Poet who sees strength in nature and solitude. This quote is from ‘The Summer Day’.
“Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make our time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope.”
Civil liberties and human rights author. Head’s books include ‘Is Torture Ever Justified?’ and ‘It’s Your World. So Change It’.
“Each person must live their life as a model for others.”
African-American civil rights activist who, in 1955, refused to give up her seat on the bus to make room for a white passenger. Her actions made her an icon of the Civil Rights Movement but Parks would later suffer hardship, loss and illness. When she died in 2005 her body lay in state in Washington and her casket viewed by more than 50,000 people.
““How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because some day in life you will have been all of these.”
American scientist, botanist, educator and inventor, believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in 1864. Carver worked to improve the diet and quality of life of poor farmers.
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Our great war-time leader and orator supremo, Churchill was also an artist, historian and writer – the only British Prime Minister to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
“It’s not how you’re doing, it’s what you’re doing.”
I love this quote. I found it in a book called 101 Reasons To Get Up In The Morning – Celebrities’ Favourite Inspirational Quotes by Julie Tanner. Whatever you think of Boris, his Granny has the right idea!
“Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.”
French philosopher, author and journalist. Camus died in a car accident at the age of 46, just two years after becoming the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children… to leave the world a better place… to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
American poet, essayist, lecturer, and champion of individualism.
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”
Poet, essayist and naturalist, Ackerman’s books and poetry share the idea that we are all a part of nature and should ‘live in the moment and wake up to nature’s everyday miracles’.
“Let us endeavour so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
Author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Hucklebury Finn, Twain arrived in the world in 1835 – the same year as Halley’s Comet. He predicted he would leave the world with Halley’s Comet. And he did – the day after it returned in 1910. He was 74.
“Life has got to be lived – that’s all there is to it.”
Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She was an advocate for civil rights and worked towards improving the status of working women.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
Irish writer, poet and all-round verbal genius. Wilde’s quotes, wit and works are as well-known as his flamboyant behaviour, and subsequent sad ending. Tried for gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ hard labour, Wilde died destitute in Paris, at the age of only 46.
“My candle burns at both its ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends – It gives a lovely light!”
Poet, playwright and feminist, Millay was only the third woman to win the Pulitzer prize for Poetry, in 1923. This wonderful quote was used by the equally wonderful author Roald Dahl, as his ‘motto for life’.
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
The 16th President of the United States, Lincoln’s belief that all men are created equal led to the end of slavery. His Gettysburg Address is the most quoted speech in American history.
“Life is a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Author, lecturer and political activist, Keller became deaf and blind as a result of childhood illness when she was 19 months old. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree and campaigned for women’s suffrage and worker’s rights.
“To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.”
Another quote from the American poet, this time from the poem ‘In Blackwater Woods’.
“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.”
Poet, playwright, author of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Miserables, Hugo was also a human rights activist. He experienced family tragedy when his eldest daughter drowned in the Seine at the age of 19, after a boat overturned. Her husband died trying to save her. Hugo would also outlive two of his sons and see his other daughter interned in an asylum for the insane.
“It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, or how you love. It matters only that you love.”
Needs no introduction but I’ll give one anyway. Beatles’ band member and one half of the 20th century’s most successful songwriting duos. Lennon’s anti-war activism and pro peace/love feeling would show itself to full effect in later songs, including Give Peace A Chance, Imagine, and Happy Xmas (War is Over). He died at the age of 40, after being shot outside his New York apartment on 8th December 1980.
“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
The ninth most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotes, and Poet Laureate from 1850 to his own death in 1892. This line comes from In Memoriam A.H.H. – a requiem for Tennyson’s best friend Arthur Hallam who was engaged to Tennyson’s sister but died of a brain haemorrhage.
“Life is rather like a tin of sardines - we’re all of us looking for the key.”
British playwright, author, screenwriter, actor, Bennett’s work reflects humanity and all its frailty, with both humour and compassion. A genius – in my humble opinion.
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
Writer, publisher and artist. Hubbard and his second wife Alice died on board the RMS Lusitania during the First World War, when it was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland on the 7th May 1915.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
Lyrics from Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy), which Lennon wrote for his son Sean, from the album Double Fantasy.
And if that’s not enough…
You’ll find more uplifting quotes on my Pinterest ‘Inspirational’ Board.
Just click the link below…