Quotations for Daily Use

Change, Diversion, Rest

"A change is as good as a rest." Winston Churchill, (1874–1965), British statesman; prime minister 1940–45 and 1951–55, said this when he did other work instead of resting.

"And how many years were you burning the candle at both ends and calling for more wax?" Timothy Kavanagh, a charater in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon

A Poem -  "For a New Beginning by John O'Donohue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you. "
John O'Donohue (1 January 1956 – 4 January 2008) was an Irish poet, author, priest, and Hegelian philosopher. This poem is from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue

"Inwardly we are being renewed day by day." II Corinthians 4:16

"Sometimes I think I'd like to fling it all away and go somewhere warm and tropical and wear a sarong! I would like to live in my body for awhile instead of in my head!" Cynthia Coopersmith, a character in A Light in the Window, a book in The Mitford Series by Jan Karon

"There have to be rest stops in music. There must be winter for the roots of a plant to dig down and grow strong for spring." Cyntha Kavanagh, a character in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon

"When you cease to fear your solitude, a new creativity awakens in you. Your forgotten or neglected wealth begins to reveal itself. You come home to yourself and learn to rest within. Thoughts are our inner senses. Infused with silence and solitude, they bring out the mystery of inner landscape." John O'Donohue (1 January 1956 – 4 January 2008) was an Irish poet, author, priest, and Hegelian philosopher. This poem is from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue

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