Richard Bach

Here is the test 
to find whether your mission on earth 
is finished.
If you're alive, it isn't.
~Richard Bach~

Can miles truly separate you from friends....
If you want to be with someone you love,
aren't you already there?
~Richard Bach~

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. 
A farewell is necessary 
before you can meet again. 
And meeting again, 
after moments or lifetimes, 
is certain for those who are friends. 
~Richard David Bach~

Sometimes when learning comes before experience. 
It doesn't make sense right away. 
~Richard David Bach~

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, 
but of respect and joy in each other's life. 
~Richard David Bach~

You teach best what you most need to learn. 
~Richard David Bach~

Francis Bacon

Prosperity discovers vice,
adversity discovers virtue.
~Francis Bacon~

Write down the thoughts of the moment.
Those that come unsought for
are commonly the most valuable.
~Francis Bacon~

Joan Baez

It seems to me that those songs 
that have been any good, 
I have nothing much to do 
with the writing of them. 
The words have just 
crawled down my sleeve 
and come out on the page. 
~Joan Baez~ 

Walter Bagehot

Perhaps the most valuable result 
of all education is the ability 
to make yourself do the thing you have to do, 
when it ought to be done, 
whether you like it or not. 
~Walter Bagehot~

Pearl Bailey

A man without ambition is dead. 
A man with ambition but no love is dead. 
A man with ambition and 
love for his blessings here on earth 
is ever so alive. 
~Pearl Bailey~

Philip James Bailey

I cannot love as I have loved,
And yet I know not why;
It is the one great woe of life
To feel all feeling die.
The sweetest joy, the wildest woe is love.
~Philip James Bailey~

George Balanchine

Dancers are instruments,
like a piano the choreographer plays.
~George Balanchine~

'

James Arthur Baldwin

Beyond talent lie all the usual words: 
discipline, love, luck -- 
but, most of all, endurance. 
~James Arthur Baldwin~

You write in order to change the world, 
knowing perfectly well that you probably can't, 
but also knowing that literature is indispensable 
to the world... The world changes according 
to the way people see it, and if you alter, 
even by a millimeter, the way ... people look at reality, 
then you can change it. 
~James Arthur Baldwin~

Not everything that is faced 
can be changed. 
But nothing can be changed 
until it is faced. 
~James Arthur Baldwin~ 

Frances Balfour

The best thing to give to your enemy
is forgiveness;
to an opponent tolerance;
to a friend your heart;
to your child a good example;
to a father deference;
to your mother,
conduct that will make her proud of you;
to yourself respect;
and to all men charity.
~Frances Balfour~

Lucille Ball

One of the things I learned the hard way
was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged.
Keeping busy and making optimism a
way of life can restore your faith in yourself.
~Lucille Ball~

Love yourself first
and everything else falls into line.
You really have to love yourself
to get anything done in this world.
~Lucille Ball~

The secret of staying young is
to live honestly, eat slowly,
and lie about your age.
~Lucille Ball~

Honoré De Balzac

An unfulfilled vocation 
drains the color 
from a man's entire existence. 
~Honoré De Balzac~ 

Pedro Calderon de la Barca

When love is not madness, 
it is not love. 
~Pedro Calderon de la Barca ~ 

James Matthew Barrie

Dreams do come true, 
if we only wish hard enough, 
You can have anything in life 
if you will sacrifice everything else for it. 
~James Matthew Barrie~ 

It's a sort of bloom on a woman. 
If you have it, you don't need to have anything else; 
and if you don't have it, 
it doesn't much matter what else you have. 
~James Matthew Barrie~

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others 
cannot keep it from themselves. 
~James Matthew Barrie~ 

Drew Barrymore

We've got to learn there are going to be
hard things in our lifetime,
but it's love that gives you the strength.
It's being nice to people
and having a lot of fun
and laughing harder than anything,
hopefully every single day of your life.
~Drew Barrymore~

Ethel Barrymore

You must learn day by day,
year by year to broaden your horizon.
The more things you love,
the more you are interested in,
the more you enjoy,
the more you are indignant about,
the more you have left when
anything happens.
~Ethel Barrymore~

Bruce Barton

If you have anything really valuable 
to contribute to the world, 
it will come through the expression 
of your own personality, 
that single spark of divinity 
that sets you off and makes you 
different from every other living creature. 
~Bruce Barton~ 

Bernard Mannes Baruch

During my eighty-seven years 
I have witnessed a whole succession 
of technological revolutions. 
But none of them has done away with 
the need for character in the individual 
or the ability to think. 
~Bernard Mannes Baruch~ 

Saint Basilz

A tree is known by its fruit; 
a man by his deeds. 
A good deed is never lost; 
he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, 
and he who plants kindness gathers love. 
~Saint Basilz~ 

Basho

Do not seek to follow 
in the footsteps of the wise. 
Seek what they sought. 
~Basho~ 

R.J. Baugham

We find greatest joy, not in getting, 
but in expressing what we are...
Men do not really live for honors or for pay; 
their gladness is not the taking and holding, 
but in doing, the striving, the building, the living. 
It is a higher joy to teach than to be taught. 
It is good to get justice, but better to do it; 
fun to have things but more to make them. 
The happy man is he who lives the life of love, 
not for the honors it may bring, 
but for the life itself. 
~R.J. Baughan~ 

Melody Beattie

Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
~Melody Beattie~

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. 
It turns what we have into enough, and more. 
It turns denial into acceptance, 
chaos into order, confusion into clarity... 
Gratitude makes sense of our past, 
brings peace for today, and 
creates a vision for tomorrow. 
~Melody Beattie~

Henry Ward Beecher

Love cannot endure indifference.
It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp,
it needs to be fed out of the oil of another's heart,
or its flame burns low.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

You never know till you try to reach them
how accessible men are;
but you must approach each man
by the right door.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

God asks no man whether
he will accept life.
That is not the choice.
You must take it.
The only question is how.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

The mother's heart is
the child's school-room.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Hold yourself responsible
for a higher standard
than anybody else expects of you.
Never excuse yourself.
Never pity yourself.
Be a hard master to yourself --
and be lenient to everybody else.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Living is death; dying is life.
We are not what we appear to be.
On this side of the grave we are exiles,
on that citizens;
on this side orphans,
on that children....
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Troubles are often the tools
by which God fashions us for better things.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

The diameter of each day is measured
by the stretch of thought -- not by the
rising and setting of the sun.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse,
a party, a company by the way, a counselor,
a multitude of counselors.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

When God wanted sponges and oysters,
He made them and put one on a rock
and the other in the mud.
When He made man,
He did not make him
to be a sponge or an oyster;
He made him with feet and hands,
and head and heart, and vital blood,
and a place to use them, and He said to him,
Go Work.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Affliction comes to us,
not to make us sad but sober;
not to make us sorry but wise
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Flowers have an expression of countenance
as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile;
some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident;
others again are plain, honest and upright,
like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Don't look back on happiness,
or dream of it in the future.
You are only sure of today;
do not let yourself be cheated out of it.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

It is not what we take up,
but what we give up, that makes us rich.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Books are not made for furniture,
but there is nothing else that so beautifully
furnishes a house.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

He is rich or poor according to what he is,
not according to what he has.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

A thoughtful mind,
when it sees a Nation's flag,
sees not the flag only, but the Nation itself;
and whatever may be its symbols, its insignia,
he reads chiefly in the flag the Government,
the principles, the truths, the history which belongs
to the Nation which belongs to the Nation that sets it forth.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Truths are first clouds;
then rain, then harvest and food.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Young love is a flame;
very pretty, often very hot and fierce,
but still only light and flickering.
The love of the older and disciplined heart
is as coals, deep burning, unquenchable.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

The most important thing a father can do
for his children is to love their mother.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

A book is good company.
It is full of conversation
without loquacity. It comes
to your longing with full instruction,
but pursues you never.-
~Henry Ward Beecher~

The art of being happy lies
in the power of extracting happiness
from common things.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

The sun does not shine
for a few trees and flowers,
but for the wide world's joy.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Pride slays thanksgiving
but a humble mind is the soil
out of which thanks naturally grow.
A proud man is seldom a grateful man,
for he never thinks he gets
as much as he deserves.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

The unthankful heart ...
discovers no mercies;
but let the thankful heart
sweep through the day and
as the magnet finds the iron,
so it will find, in every hour,
some heavenly blessings!
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Greatness lies, not in being strong,
but in the right using of strength;
and strength is not used rightly
when it serves only to carry a man
above his fellows for his own solitary glory.
He is the greatest whose strength
carries up the most hearts
by the attraction of his own.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

A person without a sense of humor 
is like a wagon without springs -- 
jolted by every pebble in the road. 
~Henry Ward Beecher~

I never knew how to worship 
until I knew how to love. 
~Henry Ward Beecher~

In this world it is not what we take up, 
but what we give up, that makes us rich. 
~Henry Ward Beecher~ 

It is not what we take up, 
but what we give up, 
that makes us rich. 
~Henry Ward Beecher~

No matter what looms ahead, 
if you can eat today, enjoy today, 
mix good cheer with friends today enjoy it 
and bless God for it. 
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Of all the earthly music, 
that which reaches farthest into heaven 
is the beating of a truly loving heart.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

To love is not a passive thing. 
To love is active voice.
~Henry Ward Beecher~

Bernard Iddings Bell

When I love I do something, 
I function, I give. 
I do not love in order that 
I may be loved back again, 
but for the creative joy of loving. 
~Bernard Iddings Bell~ 

David Ben-Gurion

Courage is a special kind of knowledge: 
the knowledge of how to fear 
what ought to be feared 
and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. 
~David Ben-Gurion~ 

Stephen Vincent Benet

Life is not lost by dying; 
life is lost minute by minute, 
day by dragging day, 
in all the thousand small uncaring ways. 
~Stephen Vincent Benet~ 

Jesse Lee Bennett

Books are the compasses
and telescopes and sextants
and charts which other men
have prepared to help us navigate
the dangerous seas of human life.
~Jesse Lee Bennett~

Robert F. Bennett

Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, 
both consciously and unconsciously. 
If you can control the process of choosing, 
you can take control of all aspects of your life. 
You can find the freedom that comes 
from being in charge of yourself. 
~Robert F. Bennett~ 

William J. Bennett

For children to take morality seriously
they must be in the presence of adults
who take morality seriously.
And with their own eyes
they must see adults
take morality seriously.
~William J. Bennett~

Milton Berle

Laughter is an instant vacation. 
~Milton Berle~ 

Leonard Bernstein

Music . . . can name the unnameable 
and communicate the unknowable. 
~Leonard Bernstein~ 

Daniel Berrigan

Sometime in your life,
hope that you might see
one starved man,
the look on his face
when the bread finally arrives.
Hope that you might have baked it
or bought or even kneaded it
yourself. For that look on his face,
for your meeting his eyes
across a piece of bread,
you might be willing to lose a lot,
or suffer a lot,
or die a little, even.
~Daniel Berrigan~

John Berry

The bird of paradise alights only
on the hand that does not grasp.
~John Berry~

Frank Bianco

If you begin to live life looking for 
the God that is all around you, 
every moment becomes a prayer. 
~Frank Bianco~ 

B. A. Billingsly

My friend, if I could give you one thing, 
I would wish for you the ability 
to see yourself as others see you. 
Then you would realize 
what a truly special person you are. 
~B. A. Billingsly~

Beverly Bird

Solitude is only comfortable when it's an option. 
~Beverly Bird~ 

Claire Huchet Bishop

Authentic Christianity never destroys what is good. 
It makes it grow, transfigures it, and enriches itself from it. 
~Claire Huchet Bishop~ 

Jacqueline Bisset

Ideally, couples need three lives;
one for him, one for her
and one for them together.
~Jacqueline Bisset~

Character contributes to beauty. 
It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. 
A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, 
discipline, fortitude, and integrity 
can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful. 
~Jacqueline Bisset~ 

Susan J. Bissonette

An optimist is the human personification of spring. 
~Susan J. Bissonette~ 

Gary Ryan Blair

Reality is not different for different people.
Not once has reality excused anyone
for good intentions ignorance or stubbornness.
Reality shows no mercy,
accepts no excuses,
and issues no pardons.
Reality does not "turn the other cheek."
This does not mean that reality is cruel,
it just means that reality is.
~Gary Ryan Blair~

Discipline is based on pride, 
on meticulous attention to details, 
and on mutual respect and confidence. 
Discipline must be a habit so ingrained 
that it is stronger than the excitement 
of the goal or the fear of failure. 
~Gary Ryan Blair~

There has been in recent years 
excessive emphasis on a citizen's rights 
and inadequate stress put upon his 
duties and responsibilities. 
~Paxton Blair~ 

William Blake

Love seeketh not Itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives it ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.
~William Blake~

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind does move
Silently, invisibly.
~William Blake~

It is easier to forgive an enemy
than to forgive a friend.
~William Blake~

Ken Blanchard

Humility does not mean
you think less of yourself.
It means you think of yourself less.
~Ken Blanchard~

Edwin C. Bliss

Yesterday is a canceled check:
Forget it.
Tomorrow is a promissory note:
Don't count on it.
Today is ready cash:
Use it!
~Edwin C. Bliss~

Ralph H. Blum

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, 
a quiet joy.
~Ralph H. Blum~ 

George Dana Boardman

Let us not say, 
Every man is the architect of his own fortune; 
but let us say, 
Every man is the architect of his own character. 
~George Dana Boardman~

Sow an act...reap a habit; 
Sow a habit...reap a character; 
Sow a character...reap a destiny. 
~George D. Boardman~ 

William J. H. Boetcker

That you may retain your self-respect, 
it is better to displease the people 
by doing what you know is right, 
than to temporarily please them 
by doing what you know is wrong. 
~William J. H. Boetcker~ 

Robert Oxton Bolt

A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; 
it is an idea that possesses the mind. 
~Robert Oxton Bolt~

Erma Bombeck

When I stand before God at the end of my life, 
I would hope that I would not have 
a single bit of talent left, and could say, 
"I used everything you gave me." 
~Erma Bombeck~ 

Napoleon Bonaparte

Nothing is more difficult, 
and therefore more precious, 
than to be able to decide. 
~Napoleon Bonaparte~ 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Action springs not from thought, 
but from a readiness for responsibility. 
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~

Telling the truth ... is not solely a matter of 
moral character; it is also a matter of 
correct appreciation of real situations and 
of serious reflection upon them. 
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~ 

Timmi Boon

A diamond you are, lying deep in the vast ocean 
awaiting to be discovered. Maybe it was destined, 
destined that I dove along that path & found 
a 'sparkling' diamond. Now I place this rare gem 
close to my heart... FOR LIFE.
~Timmi Boon~

Jorge Luis Borges

I have always imagined that Paradise 
will be a kind of library. 
~Jorge Luis Borges~ 

Hal Borland

You fight dandelions all weekend,
and late Monday afternoon there they are,
pert as all get out, in full and gorgeous bloom,
pretty as can be, thriving as only dandelions can
in the face of adversity.
~Hal Borland~

The ultimate wisdom
which deals with beginnings,
remains locked in a seed.
There it lies,
the simplest fact of the universe
and at the same time
the one which calls faith
rather than reason.
~Hal Borland~

Nadia Boulanger

Loving a child doesn't mean 
giving in to all his whims; 
to love him is to bring out the best in him, 
to teach him to love what is difficult.
~Nadia Boulanger~

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Writing, I think,
is not apart from living.
Writing is a kind of double living.
The writer experiences everything twice.
Once in reality and once in that mirror
which waits always before or behind.
~Catherine Drinker Bowen~

All the other arts are lonely. 
We paint alone -- my picture, 
my interpretation of the sky. 
My poem, my novel. 
But in music -- ensemble music, 
not soloism -- we share. 
No altruism this, 
for we receive tenfold what we give. 
~Catherine Drinker Bowen~

Elizabeth Bowen

Often when I write I am trying to make words 
do the work of line and color. 
I have the painter's sensitivity to light. 
Much ... of my writing is verbal painting. 
~Elizabeth Bowen~ 

J. F. Boyse

If, in instructing a child, 
you are vexed with it for want of adroitness, 
try, if you have never tried before, 
to write with your left hand, 
and then remember that a child 
is all left hand. 
~J. F. Boyse~ 

Ray Bradbury

You must stay drunk on writing
so reality cannot destroy you.
~Ray Bradbury~

General Omar N. Bradley

The world has achieved
brilliance without wisdom,
power without conscience.
Ours is a world of nuclear giants
and ethical infants.
We know more about war than
we know about peace,
more about killing than we know
about living. We have grasped the
mystery of the atom and
rejected the Sermon on the Mount.
~General Omar N. Bradley~

Bravery is the capacity to perform properly 
even when scared half to death. 
~General Omar Bradley~

This is as true in everyday life 
as it is in battle: we are given one life 
and the decision is ours 
whether to wait for circumstances 
to make up our mind, 
or whether to act, 
and in acting, 
to live. 
~General Omar Bradley~ 

Anne Bradstreet

If we had no winter,
the spring would not be so pleasant:
if we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.
~Anne Bradstreet~

If we had no winter, 
the spring would not be so pleasant: 
if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, 
prosperity would not be so welcome. 
~Anne Bradstreet~ 

Sir William Lawrence Bragg

The important thing in science is not so much 
to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of 
thinking about them. 
~Sir William Lawrence Bragg~

~Louis Dembitz Brandeis

Experience should teach us to be 
most on our guard to protect liberty 
when the Government's purposes are beneficent. 
Men born to freedom are naturally alert 
to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. 
The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious 
encroachment by men of zeal, 
well-meaning but without understanding. 
~Louis Dembitz Brandeis~ 

Georges Braque

Truth exists, 
only falsehood has to be invented. 
~Georges Braque~

Robert Brault

Count no day lost in which you waited your turn, 
took only your share and 
sought advantage over no one. 
~Robert Brault~

The average pencil is seven inches long, 
with just a half-inch eraser -- 
in case you thought optimism was dead. 
~Robert Brault~

Today I bent the truth to be kind, 
and I have no regret, 
for I am far surer of what is kind 
than I am of what is true. 
~Robert Brault~ 

Sarah Ban Breathnach

The passionate pursuit of dreams
sets your soul soaring;
expectations that measure your dreams'
success tie stones around your soul.
~Sarah Ban Breathnach~

Expect to have hope rekindled.
Expect your prayers to be answered
in wondrous ways.
The dry seasons in life do not last.
The spring rains will come again.
~Sarah Ban Breathnach~

Everyday epiphanies
encourage us to cherish everything.
Today a new sun has risen.
Everything lives.
Everything can speak to your
soul passionately if you will be
still enough to listen.
"You have to count on living
every single day in a way
YOU believe will make
YOU feel good about YOUR life,"
actress Jane Seymour suggests,
"so that if it were over tomorrow,
you'd be content."
~Sarah Ban Breathnach~

... when we choose not to focus 
on what is missing from our lives 
but are grateful for the abundance that's present --
love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, 
and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure --
the wasteland of illusion falls away 
and we experience heaven on earth. 
~Sarah Ban Breathnach~

You simply will not be the same person 
two months from now after consciously giving thanks 
each day for the abundance that exists in your life. 
And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: 
the more you have and are grateful for, 
the more will be given you. 
~Sarah Ban Breathnach~

David Ashley Brewer

All of life's great lessons present themselves 
again and again until mastered. 
~David Ashley Brewer~

Fanny Brice

Let the world know you as you are, 
not as you think you should be, 
because sooner or later, 
if you are posing, 
you will forget the pose, 
and then where are you? 
~Fanny Brice~ 

Harry Bridge

No man has ever been born
a Negro hater, a Jew hater,
or any other kind of hater.
Nature refuses to be involved in such practices.
~Harry Bridges~

Ashleigh Brilliant

If we could all hear one another's prayers, 
God might be relieved of some of His burdens. 
~Ashleigh Brilliant~ 

Catherine Britton

Courage is reclaiming your life 
after a devastating event robs you 
of your confidence and self-esteem. 
It is facing tomorrow with a firm resolve 
to reach deep within yourself to find 
another strength, another talent... 
It is taking yourself to another level 
of your own existence where you are 
once again whole, productive, special... 
~Catherine Britton~ 

Peter Brodie

What is important-what lasts-in another language 
is not what is said but what is written. 
For the essence of an age, 
we look to its poetry and its prose, 
not its talk shows. 
~Peter Brodie~ 

Emily Bronte

I've dreamt in my life dreams
that have stayed with me ever after,
and changed my ideas:
they've gone through and through me,
like wine through water,
and altered the color of my mind.
~Emily Bronte~

Stopford Brooke

If a thousand old beliefs
were ruined in our march to truth
we must still march on.
~Stopford Brooke~

Garth Brooks

Some of God's greatest gifts
are unanswered prayers.
~Garth Brooks~

Phillips Brooks

Christianity helps us face the music 
even when we don't like the tune. 
~Phillips Brooks~

Life comes before literature, 
as the material always comes before the work. 
The hills are full of marble 
before the world blooms with statues. 
~Phillips Brooks~ 

Henry Brougham

Education makes people easy to lead,
but difficult to drive;
easy to govern,
but impossible to enslave.
~Henry Brougham~

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Remember that the most valuable antiques
are dear old friends.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Good character is more to be praised
than outstanding talent. Most talents are,
to some extent, a gift. Good character,
by contrast, is not given to us.
We have to build it, piece by piece--
by thought, choice, courage and determination.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Remember that the happiest people
are not those getting more,
but those giving more.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Our character is what we do
when we think no one is looking.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Remember that children,
marriages, and flower gardens
reflect the kind of care they get.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

People take different roads seeking
fulfillment and happiness.
Just because they're not on your road
doesn't mean they've gotten lost.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

In the confrontation between the stream
and the rock,
the stream always wins --
not through strength
but by perseverance.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Don't say you don't have enough time.
You have exactly the same number of hours per day
that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo,
Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson,
and Albert Einstein.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.~

Joan Winmill Brown

Christmas! 
The very word brings joy to our hearts. 
No matter how we may dread the rush, 
the long Christmas lists for gifts 
and cards to be bought and given -- 
when Christmas Day comes 
there is still the same warm feeling 
we had as children, the same warmth that 
enfolds our hearts and our homes. 
~Joan Winmill Brown~ 

Lester Louis Brown

A dream can be nurtured over years and years 
and then flourish rapidly. . . . Be patient. 
It will happen for you. Sooner or later, 
life will get weary of beating on you and 
holding the door shut on you, and then 
it will let you in and throw you a real party! 
~Lester Louis Brown~

Change is difficult but often essential to survival. 
~Lester Louis Brown~ 

If you view all the things that happen to you, 
both good and bad, as opportunities, 
then you operate out of a higher level of consciousness. 
~Lester Louis Brown~

If you take responsibility for yourself 
you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams. 
~Lester Louis Brown~

One of the most essential things you need 
to do for yourself is to choose a goal 
that is important to you. 
Perfection does not exist -- 
you can always do better and 
you can always grow. 
~Lester Louis Brown~

When you face your fear, 
most of the time you will discover t
hat it was not really such a big threat after all. 
We all need some form of deeply rooted, 
powerful motivation -- it empowers us to 
overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams. 
~Lester Louis Brown~ 

When you want something, 
you have to be willing to pay your dues. 
~Lester Louis Brown~ 

You cannot be wimpy out there 
on the dream-seeking trail. 
Dare to break through barriers, 
to find your own path. 
~Lester Louis Brown~

You gotta be hungry!
~Lester Louis Brown~

You must take action now 
that will move you towards your goals. 
Develop a sense of urgency in your life. 
~Lester Louis Brown~ 

Pam Brown

A friend is the only person you will let 
into the house when you are 
Turning Out Drawers. 
~Pam Brown~

The baby rises to its feet, takes a step, 
is overcome with triumph and joy -- 
and falls flat on its face. 
It is a pattern for all that is to come! 
But learn from the bewildered baby. 
Lurch to your feet again. 
You'll make the sofa in the end. 
~Pam Brown~ 

William D. Brown

Failure is an event,
never a person.
~William D. Brown~

Merry Browne

Preconceived notions are
the locks on the door to wisdom.
~Merry Browne~

Sir Thomas Browne

There are mystically in our faces 
certain characters which carry in them 
the motto of our souls, wherein 
he that cannot read A, B, C 
may read our natures. 
~Sir Thomas Browne~ 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God....
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning~

I love you not only for what you are,
but for what I am when I am with you.
I love you not only for what you have made of yourself,
but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning~

What I do and what I dream include thee,
as the wine must taste of its own grapes.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning~

No man can be called friendless who has God
and the companionship of good books.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning~

Every wish is like a prayer, with God.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning~

Jacob Brownowski

Man masters nature not by force 
but by understanding. 
~Jacob Brownowski~ 

Jerome Brunet

You're more likely to act yourself into feeling 
than feel yourself into action. 
So act! Whatever it is you know you should do, do it. 
~Jerome Brunet~ 

Mary Ann Brussat

Nature often holds up a mirror 
so we can see more clearly 
the ongoing processes of growth, 
renewal, and transformation in our lives. 
~Mary Ann Brussat~ 

W. J. Bryant

Destiny is not a matter of chance, 
it is a matter of choice. 
It is not a thing to be waited for; 
it is a thing to be achieved. 
~W. J. Bryant~ 

Art Buchwald

Just when you think there's nothing to write about, 
Nixon says, "I am not a crook." 
Jimmy Carter says, 
"I have lusted after women in my heart." 
President Reagan says, 
"I have just taken a urinalysis test, 
and I am not on dope." 
~Art Buchwald~ 

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck

The person who tries to live alone
will not succeed as a human being.
His heart withers if it does not
answer another heart. His mind shrinks away
if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts
and finds no other inspiration.
~Pearl Sydenstricker Buck~

The young do not know enough
to be prudent, and therefore they
attempt the impossible -- and achieve it,
generation after generation.
~Pearl Sydenstricker Buck~

Growth itself
contains the germ of happiness.
~Pearl Sydenstricker Buck~

You cannot make yourself feel something
you do not feel, but you can make yourself
do right in spite of your feelings.
~Pearl Sydenstricker Buck~

To serve is beautiful, 
but only if it is done with joy 
and a whole heart and a free mind. 
~Pearl Sydenstricker Buck~

Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama

Your work is to discover your work
and then with all your heart
to give yourself to it.
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~ 

All that we are is the result
of what we have thought…
If a man speaks or acts
with an evil thought,
pain follows him…
If a man speaks or acts
with a pure thought,
happiness follows him,
like a shadow that never leaves him.
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~ 

Words have the power to both destroy and heal.
When words are both true and kind,
they can change our world.
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~ 

The thought manifests as the word. 
The word manifests as the deed. 
The deed develops into habit. 
And the habit hardens into character. 
So watch the thought 
and its ways with care. 
And let it spring from love, 
born out of concern for all beings....
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~ 

A good friend who points out mistakes 
and imperfections and rebukes evil 
is to be respected as if he reveals 
a secret of hidden treasure. 
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~

Health is the greatest gift, 
contentment the greatest wealth, 
faithfulness the best relationship. 
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~

To keep the body in good health is a duty. . . 
otherwise we shall not be able to 
keep our mind strong and clear. 
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~

We are shaped by our thoughts; 
we become what we think. 
When the mind is pure, 
joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. 
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~ 

You should respect each other and refrain from disputes; 
you should not, like water and oil, repel each other, but should, 
like milk and water, mingle together. 
~Buddha....Siddhartha Gautama~ 

Carl W. Buechner

They may forget what you said, 
but they will never forget 
how you made them feel.
~Carl W. Buechner~

Frederick Buechner

The grace of God 
means something like: 
Here is your life. 
You might never have been, 
but you are because the party 
wouldn't have been complete 
without you. Here is the world. 
Beautiful and terrible things will happen. 
Don't be afraid. 
I am with you. 
Nothing can ever separate us. 
It's for you I created the universe. 
I love you. 
There's only one catch. 
Like any other gift, 
the gift of grace can be yours 
only if you'll reach out and take it. 
Maybe being able to 
reach out and take it 
is a gift too. 
~Frederick Buechner~ 

Jimmy Buffet

Older and wiser voices can always help you 
find the right path, 
if you are only willing to listen. 
~Jimmy Buffet~ 

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

Refuse to be ill.
Never tell people you are ill;
never own it to yourself.
Illness is one of those things
which a man should resist on principle
at the onset.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

Patience is not passive;
on the contrary, it is active;
it is concentrated strength.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

The best teacher
is the one who suggests
rather than dogmatizes,
and inspires his listener
with the wish to teach himself.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

The true spirit of conversation consists
in building on another man's observation,
not overturning it.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

If you wish to be loved,
show more of your faults than your virtues.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

When a person is down in the world,
an ounce of help is better than
a pound of preaching.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

One of the surest evidences of friendship
that one individual can display to another
is telling him gently of a fault.
If any other can excel it,
it is listening to such a disclosure
with gratitude, and amending the error.
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton~

John Bunyan

You have not lived until you have 
done something for someone who can never repay you.
~John Bunyan~ 

Hubert de Burgh

In prosperity prepare for a change; 
in adversity hope for one. 
~Hubert de Burgh~

James Burgh

In prosperity prepare for a change;
in adversity hope for one.
~James Burgh~

Edmund Burke

He that wrestles with us 
strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. 
Our antagonist is our helper. 
~Edmund Burke~ 

Carol Burnett

I have always grown from 
my problems and challenges, 
from the things that don't work out, 
that's when I've really learned. 
~Carol Burnett~ 

George Burns

No snowflake in an avalanche 
ever feels responsible. 
~George Burns~ 

Charles H. Burr

Getters generally don’t get happiness; 
givers get it. 
~Charles H. Burr~

John Burroughs

For anything worth having one must pay the price; 
and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice—
no paper currency, no promises to pay, 
but the gold of real service. 
~John Burroughs~ 

Richard de Bury

A library of wisdom, 
is more precious than all wealth, 
and all things that are desirable 
cannot be compared to it. 
Whoever therefore claims to be zealous of truth, 
of happiness, of wisdom or knowledge, 
must become a lover of books. 
~Richard de Bury~ 

Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia

A single rose can be my garden...
a single friend, my world.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Perfect love is rare indeed - for to be a lover
will require that you continually have the subtlety
of the very wise, the flexibility of the child,
the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding
of the philosopher the acceptance of the saint,
the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Change. It has the power to uplift, to heal,
to stimulate, surprise, open new doors, bring
fresh experience and create excitement in life.
Certainly it is worth the risk.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Don't hold to anger, hurt or pain.
They steal your energy and keep you from love.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

A wonderful realization
will be the day you realize
that you are unique in all the world.
There is nothing that is an accident.
You are a special combination for a purpose
-and don't let them tell you otherwise,
even if they tell you that purpose is an illusion.
(Live an illusion if you have to).
You are that combination so
that you can do what is essential for you to do.
Don't ever believe that you have nothing to contribute.
The world is an incredible unfulfilled tapestry.
And only you can fulfill that tiny space that is yours.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

What we call the secret of happiness
is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

It is paradoxical that many educators
and parents still differentiate between
a time for learning and a time for play
without seeing the vital connection
between them.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Life is a great and wondrous mystery,
and the only thing we know
that we have for sure
is what is right here right now.
Don't miss it.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded
lives as we pass through this world.
There will most likely be no ticker-tape
parades for us, no monuments created
in our honor. But that does not lessen our
possible impact, for there are scores of people
waiting for someone just like us to come along;
people who will appreciate our compassion,
our unique talents. Someone who will live a
happier life merely because we took the time
to share what we had to give. Too often
we underestimate the power of a touch,
a smile, a kind word a listening ear,
an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have a potential
to turn a life around. It's overwhelming
to consider the continuous opportunities
there are to make our love felt.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

To love is to risk
not being loved in return.
To hope is to risk pain.
To try is to risk failure,
But risk must be taken,
Because the greatest hazard in life
Is to risk nothing
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

The fact that I can plant a seed
and it becomes a flower,
share a bit of knowledge
and it becomes another's,
smile at someone
and receive a smile in return,
are to me continual spiritual exercises.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

There are all kinds of artist. 
A group we should celebrate more 
are artist of life itself who use their 
tools to express the inexpressible. 
Without a brush, they depict life with 
bright colors. Without a knife, 
they sculpt the magic of being. 
Without a scale, they create music 
for us all. Without choreography, 
they engage in the dance of life. 
When we are born, we are given 
tools to create a life of beauty. 
These same tools can be used to 
perpetuate ugliness and destruction. 
Hopefully we will understand at some 
point in our lives that we can decide 
to reflect beauty. Tangible works of art 
fade with time, chip from walls, and 
may be discredited by passing trends. 
But a life of love lasts forever. 
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~
Born For Love

Change is the end result of all true learning. 
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Everyday we are modeling for our children.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

It's not enough to have lived. 
We should be determined to live for something. 
May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, 
sharing what we have 
for the betterment of personkind, 
bringing hope to the lost 
and love to the lonely. 
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Love is life. 
And if you miss love, 
you miss life. 
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Only the weak are cruel. 
Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, 
a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, 
or the smallest act of caring, 
all of which have the potential to turn a life around. 
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Unconditional Love... 
I will love you no matter what. 
I will love you if you are stupid, 
if you slip and fall on your face, 
if you do the wrong thing, 
if you make mistakes, 
if you behave like a human being 
I will love you no matter. 
~Leo Buscaglia....Felice Leonardo Buscaglia~

Barbara Bush

Some people give time, some money, 
some their skills and connections, 
some literally give their life's blood. 
But everyone has something to give. 
~Barbara Bush~

You don't just luck into things 
as much as you'd like to think you do. 
You build step by step, 
whether it's friendships or opportunities. 
~Barbara Bush~ 

George Bush

Trees can reduce the heat
of a summer's day,
quiet a highway's noise,
feed the hungry,
provide shelter from the wind
and warmth in the winter.
You see, the forests
are the sanctuaries not only
of wildlife, but also of
the human spirit.
And every tree is
a compact between generations.
~George Bush, U.S. President, 1989~

President George W. Bush

America will be a consistent friend of every leader 
who works for peace by actively opposing violence. 
~President George W. Bush, 2003~

Freedom is not America's gift to the world, 
it's God's gift to humanity. 
~President George W Bush, 2003~ 

However long the journey, our destination is set: 
liberty and justice for all. 
~President George W. Bush, 2003~

Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. 
It means character, and it means 
listening from time to time. 
~President George W. Bush~

Use power to help people. 
For we are given power not to advance our own purposes 
nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. 
There is but one just use of power 
and it is to serve people. 
~President George W. Bush~

....we will always be grateful 
that liberty has found such brave defenders.
~President George W. Bush,2003~

Rhett Butler

You should be kissed and often 
And by someone who knows how.
~Rhett Butler~ 
"Gone With the Wind"

Samuel Butler

Books want to be born: I never make them.
They come to me and insist on being written,
and on being such and such.
~Samuel Butler~

'Tis better to have loved and lost,
than never to have lost at all.
~Samuel Butler~

Youth is like spring,
an over-praised season more
remarkable for biting winds
than genial breezes.
Autumn is the mellower season,
and what we lose in flowers
we more than gain in fruits.
~Samuel Butler~

Life is like playing a violin
solo in public and
learning the instrument
as one goes along.
~Samuel Butler~

To himself everyone is immortal;
he may know that he is going to die,
but he can never know that he is dead.
~Samuel Butler~

To live is like to love --
all reason is against it,
and all healthy instinct for it.
~Samuel Butler~

Every man's work, 
whether it be literature or music 
or pictures or architecture 
or anything else, 
is always a portrait of himself. 
~Samuel Butler~

Loyalty is still the same, 
whether it win or lose the game; 
true as a dial to the sun, 
although it be not shined upon. 
~Samuel Butler~

Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron

But words are things,
and a small drop of ink,
falling like dew, upon a thought,
produces that which makes thousands,
perhaps millions, think.
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~

There is no instinct 
like that of the heart.
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~

Letter writing is the only device for
combining solitude with good company.
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~

Man's love is of man's life a thing apart;
Tis a woman's whole existence.
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~

To have joy one must share it.
Happiness was born a twin.
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~

Sorrow is knowledge,
those that know the most must mourn the deepest
the tree of knowledge is not the tree of life.
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~

My time has been passed 
viciously and agreeably; 
at thirty-one so few years months days hours 
or minutes remain that 'Carpe Diem' is 
not enough. I have been obliged to crop 
even the seconds-for who can trust to tomorrow? 
~Lord Byron....George Gordon Byron~ 

song playing....Town Without Pity

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