There is a great deal more happiness around us day by day than we have sense or power to seek and find
On courage, happiness, accomplishing great tasks, and an excerpt from Letters, Stamps and Seals.
Hello guys! I hope you are well? Although I can’t say the same for myself because I have been a bit under the weather. Actually, I think so many people have been ill lately. If you are also experiencing this, I wish you quick recovery because nothing beats good health tbh.
This morning, I was doing research on a topic I recently discovered. It seemed interesting so I read a couple of articles and watched a YouTube video halfway till sleep did its thing.
Naturally, I would wake up to continue the research on the topic and maybe even write about it. But nah, I’m not sure my current mood will do justice to it. In fact, my current mood just wants me to sleep all day.
So instead, I would highlight a few quotes I found really interesting in the course of the week, and an excerpt from a book I read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while compiling it.
So, let’s get to it I guess.
…
A quote on accomplishing great tasks by an author and activist Helen Keller
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. …The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
A quote on courage by a novelist Andre Malraux
“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one’s better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk — and to act.”
A quote on courage by a boxing trainer Cus D’amato
“I tell my kids, what is the difference between a hero and a coward? What is the difference between being (cowardly) and being brave? No difference. Only what you do. They both feel the same. They both fear dying and getting hurt. The man who is (cowardly) refuses to face up to what he’s got to face. The hero is more disciplined and he fights those feelings off and he does what he has to do. But they both feel the same, the hero and the coward. People who watch you judge you on what you do, not how you feel.”
A quote on changing the world by John F. Kennedy
“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.”
A quote on happiness by a farmer Thomas Mitchell
“One of the best secrets of a happy life is the art of extracting comfort and sweetness from every circumstance…
People are always looking for happiness at some future time and in some new thing, or some new set of circumstances, in possession of which they someday expect to find themselves. But the fact is, if happiness is not found now, where we are, and as we are, there is little chance of it ever being found. There is a great deal more happiness around us day by day than we have sense or power to seek and find.
If we are to cultivate the art of living, we should cultivate the art of extracting sweetness and comfort out of everything, and the bee goes from flower to flower in search of honey.”
This week, I read Letters, Stamps and Seals, a memoir by Omolara Agbaje that takes the reader through the protagonist’s journey of grief, denial, acceptance, relapse and an undying love for the one who causes her pain.
I love how I could literally feel the emotions of the writer because of how vividly the story was painted. Here’s a part of the book I really loved.
“You see, we sometimes go looking for honey in the wrong holes, and we don’t even know it’s the wrong hole until we dip our hands inside. But then, we’d get to know what the wrong holes are, as well as who we are and what we want.”
*****
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Stay safe and sane.
Yosola.
Heyyy Yosola, get well soon. My favourite quotes from today would be the ones on happiness
Get well soon Miss. While you're at it, find the courage to go about your usual routine as though you were all round healthy! Let your words inspire you too. GM/GD