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c245c7e Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others. courage inspiration inspirational-attitude inspirational-life inspirational-quotes inspire life-and-living life-quotes living motivation optimistic positive-affirmation positive-life dreams inspiring positive positive-thinking motivational life-lessons optimism life inspirational brave purpose vision Roy T. Bennett
f89929b Believe in Your Hear magic passion inspiration inspirational-quotes inspire life-quotes living optimistic positive-affirmation positive-life inspiring positive positive-thinking optimism heart life inspirational miracles believe purpose Roy T. Bennett
4eb5225 The best things in life make you sweaty. philosophical life love inspirational puberty meaning-of-life purpose Edgar Allan Poe
8cbda4a "In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, "Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done." And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat up, looked around, and spoke. Man blinked. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely. "Everything must have a purpose?" asked God. "Certainly," said man. "Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God. And He went away." meaning-of-life purpose Kurt Vonnegut
b17ec84 If you have a strong purpose in life, you don't have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there. passion leadership inspirational-attitude inspirational-life inspirational-quotes inspire life-and-living life-quotes living motivation optimistic positive-affirmation positive-life inspiring positive positive-thinking motivational life-lessons optimism life inspirational purpose Roy T. Bennett
b9a43fe If you hang out with chickens, you're going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you're going to fly. responsibility friends motivational success life inspirational accountability purpose Steve Maraboli
e1d2979 Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one. understanding loss god purpose Dean Koontz
b8bf2a4 It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters, positive-living money kindness spirit compassion self-awareness spirituality happiness life love philosophy wisdom inspirational purposeful-living happy-life attention oneness purpose-in-life positive-attitude purpose-of-life meaning-of-life self-discovery perspective meditation purpose revelation peace respect Amit Ray
8ebcece What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured. loneliness daring youth community purpose Kurt Vonnegut
ba4425c I want to live my life in such a way that when I get out of bed in the morning, the devil says, "aw shit, he's up! live goodness motivational life inspirational aspirations morning purpose devil Steve Maraboli
38c65b0 Nothing is more creative... nor destructive... than a brilliant mind with a purpose. purpose Dan Brown
164a53c Each suburban wife struggles with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question-- 'Is this all? marriage feminism inspirational housekeeping existentialism purpose parenting Betty Friedan
90fc302 Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd. life-lessons inspirational purpose Rumi
fd338d1 " A man said to the universe: "Sir, I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." universe poetry meaning purpose Stephen Crane
cf9a2d2 The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute that it takes me to compose this sentence, thousands of animals are being eaten alive, many others are running for their lives, whimpering with fear, others are slowly being devoured from within by rasping parasites, thousands of all kinds are dying of starvation, thirst, and disease. It must be so. If there ever is a time of plenty, this very fact will automatically lead to an increase in the population until the natural state of starvation and misery is restored. In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference. evolution suffering fear science indifference design starvation disease purpose natural-selection Richard Dawkins
b557b1b Free yourself from the complexities and drama of your life. Simplify. Look within. Within ourselves we all have the gifts and talents we need to fulfill the purpose we've been blessed with. simplify gratitude empowerment motivational life inspirational blessings purpose drama Steve Maraboli
69f4650 The purpose of life is not to be happy--but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all. truth inspirational purpose Leo Rosten
fc25850 Find a purpose to serve, not a lifestyle to live. achieve achieving meaning reason reason-to-live sacrifice successful-living inspiration inspire living motivation inspiring motivational success life inspirational achievement purpose-in-life reason-to-breathe lifestyle motivate motivating ambition purpose goals Criss Jami
df37d52 Cat: Where are you going? Alice: Which way should I go? Cat: That depends on where you are going. Alice: I don't know. Cat: Then it doesn't matter which way you go. purpose Lewis Carroll
a73a0df It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about? inspirational industriousness purpose Henry David Thoreau
3a3e1e0 The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning. We long for a Parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes. But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable. If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal. meaning religion god truth purpose knowledge Carl Sagan
e646ffd Your greatest self has been waiting your whole life; don't make it wait any longer. action change motivational life inspirational mission self-empowerment purpose Steve Maraboli
3cb8191 Accept yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, your truths, and know what tools you have to fulfill your purpose. acceptance-of-oneself motivational life truth inspirational strengths weaknesses tools purpose Steve Maraboli
53ab09d Sometimes it's the same moments that take your breath away that breathe purpose and love back into your life. life love inspirational breath moments purpose Steve Maraboli
1642a05 There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose. unhappiness marriage mind suitability matches matrimony purpose Charles Dickens
c7dfc38 A wind that blows aimlessly is no good to anyone. wisdom purpose Rick Riordan
9454bbb I realized then that even though I was a tiny speck in an infinite cosmos, a blip on the timeline of eternity, I was not without purpose. r-j-anderson ultraviolet inspirational cosmos purpose R.J. Anderson
c90b454 Dedicate yourself to what gives your life true meaning and purpose; make a positive difference in someone's life. inspiration inspirational-attitude inspirational-life inspirational-quotes inspire life-and-living life-quotes living motivation optimistic positive-affirmation positive-life inspiring positive positive-thinking motivational life-lessons optimism life inspirational dedication purpose Roy T. Bennett
793b39b Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery. It is far better to be free, to leave the forts and barricades of fear, to stand erect and face the future with a smile. It is far better to give yourself sometimes to negligence, to drift with wave and tide, with the blind force of the world, to think and dream, to forget the chains and limitations of the breathing life, to forget purpose and object, to lounge in the picture gallery of the brain, to feel once more the clasps and kisses of the past, to bring life's morning back, to see again the forms and faces of the dead, to paint fair pictures for the coming years, to forget all Gods, their promises and threats, to feel within your veins life's joyous stream and hear the martial music, the rhythmic beating of your fearless heart. And then to rouse yourself to do all useful things, to reach with thought and deed the ideal in your brain, to give your fancies wing, that they, like chemist bees, may find art's nectar in the weeds of common things, to look with trained and steady eyes for facts, to find the subtle threads that join the distant with the now, to increase knowledge, to take burdens from the weak, to develop the brain, to defend the right, to make a palace for the soul. This is real religion. This is real worship free slavery weak worship dream joy future fear heart inspirational development feeling reform facts purpose gods burden threat knowledge thought Robert Green Ingersoll
9b8667b Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. hope life significance purpose Rick Warren
f55a7de She has man's brain--a brain that a man should have were he much gifted--and woman's heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose, believe me when He made that so good combination. mankind man woman mind women god heart intelligence combination gifted giftedness purpose brains Bram Stoker
4f4608e Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. men purpose John Eldredge
f15cd8a To every man his little cross. Till he dies. And is forgotten. godot purpose Samuel Beckett
8578885 But we are strong, each in our purpose, and we are all more strong together. strength together-in-spirit together purpose strong Bram Stoker
02ce2e4 We may run, walk, stumble. drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way. life inspirational purpose journey Gloria Gaither
97d471b God created me--and you--to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion--namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. god purpose John Piper
b8f6a95 A man may plant a tree for a number of reasons. Perhaps he likes trees. Perhaps he wants shelter. Or perhaps he knows that someday he may need the firewood. motive purpose planning strategy Joanne Harris
70ff717 If I am going to be drowned--if I am going to be drowned--if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? meaning spirituality purpose Stephen Crane
4011771 I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs. purpose Annie Dillard
508a4ca Men are free when they are obeying some deep, inward voice of religious belief. Obeying from within. Men are free when they belong to a living, organic, believing community, active in fulfilling some unfulfilled, perhaps unrealized purpose. Not when they are escaping to some wild west. The most unfree souls go west, and shout of freedom. escape freedom religion individual west purpose obedience D.H. Lawrence
43557ab Pride makes us long for a solution to things - a solution, a purpose, a final cause; but the better telescopes become, the more stars appear. solution purpose pride Julian Barnes
ee4c320 We make our purpose. life purpose Carl Sagan
3c4cc99 From the moment of my birth, I lived with pain at the center of my life. My only purpose in life was to find a way to coexist with intense pain. pain existence life coexist find-a-way haruki-murakam the-wind-up-bird-chronicle murakami intense center japanese painful japan exist purpose Haruki Murakami
ab58750 Girls like guys to be a challenge. It gives them some mold to fit in how they act. Like a mom. What would a mom do if she couldn't fuss over you and make you clean your room? And what would you do without her fussing and making you do it? Everyone needs a mom. And a mom knowns this. And it gives her a sense of purpose. You get it? guys purpose mom Stephen Chbosky
7448edf When ours are interrupted, his are not. His plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always (including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless or wasted or unendurable). god life inspirational schedule will-of-god plans purpose Elisabeth Elliot
7bcf361 If the present world go astray, the cause is in you, in you it is to be sought. responsibility purpose Dante Alighieri
d2e0e1a to cheat your way into a job bigger than your mind can handle is to become a fear-corroded ape on borrowed motions and borrowed time, and to settle down into a job that requires less than your mind's full capacity is to cut your motor and sentence yourself to another kind of motion: decay - that your work is the process of achieving your values, and to lose your ambition for values is to lose your ambition to live - that your body is a machine, but your mind is its driver, and you must drive as far as your mind will take you, with achievement as the goal of your road - that the man who has no purpose is a machine that coasts downhill at the mercy of any boulder to crash in the first chance ditch, that the man who stifles his mind is a stalled machine slowly going to rust, that the man who lets a leader prescribe his course is a wreck being towed to the scrap heap, and the man who makes another man his goal is a hitchhiker no driver should ever pick up - that your work is the purpose of your life, and you must speed past any killer who assumes the right to stop you, that any value you might find outside your work, any other loyalty or love, can be only travelers you choose to share your journey and must be travelers going on their own power in the same direction. work purpose Ayn Rand
31df70d Garion,' she said very calmly, 'the universe knew your name before that moon up there was spun out of the emptiness. Whole constellations have been waiting for you since the beginning of time.' I didn't want them to, Aunt Pol.' There are those of us who aren't given that option, Garion. There are things that gave to be done and certain people who have to do them. It's as simple as that.' He smiled rather sadly at her flawless face and gently touched the snowy white lock at her brow. Then, for the last time in his life, he asked the question that had been on his lips since he was a tiny boy. 'Why me, Aunt Pol? Why me?' Can you possibly think of anyone else you'd trust to deal with these matters, Garion?' He had not really been prepared for that question. It came at him in stark simplicity. Now at last he fully understood. 'No,' he sighed, 'I suppose not. Somehow it seems a little unfair, though. I wasn't even consulted.' Neither was I, Garion,' she answered. 'But we didn't have to be consulted, did we? The knowledge of what we have to do is born into us. fantasy purpose David Eddings
ac34322 Your mind was made to know and love God. mind god love purpose John Piper
1c7f2dc I had as yet no notion that life every now and then becomes literature--not for long, of course, but long enough to be what we best remember, and often enough so that what we eventually come to mean by life are those moments when life, instead of going sideways, backwards, forward, or nowhere at all, lines out straight, tense and inevitable, with a complication, climax, and, given some luck, a purgation, as if life had been made and not happened. literature purpose Norman Maclean
e118a3c You told me once that we shall be judged by our intentions, not by our accomplishments. I thought it a grand remark. But we must intend to accomplish--not sit intending on a chair. resolve purpose E.M. Forster
34ab8b2 "It was becoming clearer and clearer that if I wanted to come to the end of my life and not say, "I've wasted it!" then I would need to press all the way in, and all the way up, to the ultimate purpose of God and join him in it. If my life was to have a single, all-satisfying, unifying passion, it would have to be God's passion." god purpose John Piper
c57a405 Looking at Tim, one cannot help feeling great waves of uncertainty, an absence of aim, of purpose, as if he is a person who simply doesn't matter. languor lassitude ennui uncertainty purpose Bret Easton Ellis
ca50c2c Then she understood that what she needed was the motion to a purpose, no matter how small or in what form, the sense of an activity going step by step to some chosen end across a span of time. The work of cooking a meal was like a closed circle, completed and gone, leading nowhere. But the work of building a path was a living sum, so that no day was left to die behind her, but each day contained all those that preceded it, each day acquired its immortality on every succeeding tomorrow. A circle, she thought, is the movement proper to physical nature, they say that there's nothing but circular motion in the inanimate universe around us, but the straight line is the badge of man, the straight line of a geometrical abstraction that makes roads, rails and bridges, the straight line that cuts the curving aimlessness of nature by a purposeful motion from a start to an end. The cooking of meals, she thought, is like the feeding of coal to an engine for the sake of a great run, but what would be the imbecile torture of coaling an engine that had no run to make? It is not proper for man's life to be a circle, she thought, or a string of circles dropping off like zeros behind him--man's life must be a straight line of motion from goal to farther goal, each leading to the next and to a single growing sum, like a journey down the track of a railroad, from station to station to--oh, stop it! nature purpose Ayn Rand
9d49af8 The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the Treasure he is. kindness christianity treasure god life purpose christ John Piper
a0744b7 Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you're already in heaven now. enlightenment heaven kindness meaning living-outside-yourself fulfillment salvation purpose Jack Kerouac
3d2eb30 No! I don't want to speak of that! But I'm going to. I want you to hear. I want you to know what's in store for you. There will be days when you'll look at your hands and you'll want to take something and smash every bone in them, because they'll be taunting you with what they could do, if you found a chance for them to do it, and you can't find that chance, and you can't bear your living body because it has failed those hands somewhere. There will be days when a bus driver will snap at you as you enter a bus, and he'll be only asking for a dime, but that won't be what you hear; you'll hear that you're nothing, that he's laughing at you, that it's written on your forehead, that thing they hate you for. There will be days when you'll stand in the corner of a hall and listen to a creature on a platform talking about buildings, about the work you love, and the things he'll say will make you wait for somebody to rise and crack him open between two thumbnails; and then you'll hear people applauding him, and you'll want to scream, because you won't know whether they're real or you are, whether you're in a room full of gored skulls, or whether someone has just emptied your own head, and you'll say nothing, because the sounds you could make - they're not a language in that room any longer; but you'd want to speak, you won't anyway, because you'll be brushed aside, you who have nothing to tell them about buildings! Is that what you want? objectivism purpose perception Ayn Rand
210a9a1 He opened the book at random, or so he believed, but a book is like a sandy path which keeps the indent of footsteps. intent divination purpose Graham Greene
51ceec6 Being unheard is the ground floor of giving up, and giving up is the ground floor of doing yourself in. It's not so much, what's the point? It's more like, what's the difference? ground-floor suicide loss death life give-up unheard giving-up difference purpose point Mitch Albom
6c07286 At the core of her senseless actions, she vaguely perceived that she yearned for something. A something that would provide her with a sure sense of fulfillment. But she could not fathom what that something might be. spiritual life yearning purpose Shūsaku Endō
18628a5 I suppose what I really am is restless. I want to go everywhere, see everything, do everything. I want to find something. Yes, that's it, I want to find something. restless purpose Agatha Christie
581d8c7 Yet it's not for want of future that I'm here, he thought. It's for want of a present. present life lack purpose John le Carré
a7adc59 To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. spirit meant-to-be purpose resistance soul Steven Pressfield
0d231c3 In other words, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term grown, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our high nature instead of our lower. Any of these will elicit Resistance. instant-gratification drive purpose resistance Steven Pressfield
1be259c "But there's so to learn," he said, with a thoughtful frown. "Yes, that's true," admitted Rhyme; "but it's not just learning things that's important. It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters." "That's just what I mean," explained Milo as Tock and the exhausted bug drifted quietly off to sleep. "Many of the things I'm supposed to know seem so useless that I can't see the purpose in learning them at all." "You may not see it now," said the Princess of Pure Reason, looking knowingly at Milo's puzzled face, "but whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way." learning purpose Norton Juster
30a7a25 My help had been needed and claimed; I had given it: I was pleased to have done something: trivial, transitory though the deed was, it was yet an active thing, and I was weary of an existence all passive. purpose Charlotte Brontë
68dee45 Part of him wanted to weep... but his purpose was rigid within him. He felt he could not bend to gentleness without breaking. gentleness purpose Stephen R. Donaldson
88c6339 "Even if we have a reliable criterion for detecting design, and even if that criterion tells us that biological systems are designed, it seems that determining a biological system to be designed is akin to shrugging our shoulders and saying God did it. The fear is that admitting design as an explanation will stifle scientific inquiry, that scientists will stop investigating difficult problems because they have a sufficient explanation already. But design is not a science stopper. Indeed, design can foster inquiry where traditional evolutionary approaches obstruct it. Consider the term "junk DNA." Implicit in this term is the view that because the genome of an organism has been cobbled together through a long, undirected evolutionary process, the genome is a patchwork of which only limited portions are essential to the organism. Thus on an evolutionary view we expect a lot of useless DNA. If, on the other hand, organisms are designed, we expect DNA, as much as possible, to exhibit function. And indeed, the most recent findings suggest that designating DNA as "junk" merely cloaks our current lack of knowledge about function. For instance, in a recent issue of the , John Bodnar describes how "non-coding DNA in eukaryotic genomes encodes a language which programs organismal growth and development." Design encourages scientists to look for function where evolution discourages it. evolution science coccyx human-appendix human-coccyx junk-dna scientific-prediction vestigial-organs dna biology purpose id intelligent-design darwinism William A. Dembski
03e5080 With life. Rooter says that life is how God gives purpose to the universe. universe life purpose Orson Scott Card
b29bc9f The road to happiness is paved with good deeds for others. people goodness happiness life road-to-happiness purpose Lisa Schroeder
7575b82 The Good Lord Bird don't run in a flock. He Flies alone. You know why? He's searching. Looking for the right tree. And when he sees that tree, that dead tree that's taking all the nutrition and good things from the forest floor. He goes out and he gnaws at it, and he gnaws at it till the thing gets tired and it falls down. And the dirt from it raises other trees. It gives them good things to eat. It makes 'em strong. Gives 'em life. And the circle goes 'round. nature the-right-thing birds purpose James McBride
8e5ccd7 When kings the sword of justice first lay down, They are no kings, though they possess the crown. Titles are shadows, crowns are empty things, The good of subjects is the end of kings. good monarchs subjects nothing emptiness titles kings purpose justice Daniel Defoe
5959667 A clear purpose will unite you as you move forward, values will guide your behavior, and goals will focus your energy. collaboration energy purpose goals values Kenneth H. Blanchard
659f422 Men die in battle; women die in childbirth. war men history women religion gender-roles purpose Philippa Gregory
9e18943 There is a grotesquerie to grief as well. You lose the sense of your existence being rational, or justifiable. You feel absurd. grief life existential-crisis purpose Julian Barnes
fafe264 But in the depths of his heart, the older he became, and the more intimately he knew his brother, the more and more frequently the thought struck him that this faculty of working for the public good, of which he felt himself utterly devoid, was possibly not so much a quality as a lack of something --not a lack of good, honest, noble desires and tastes, but a lack of vital force, of what is called heart, of that impulse which drives a man to choose someone out of the innumerable paths of life, and to care only for that one. The better he knew his brother, the more he noticed that Sergey Ivanovitch, and many other people who worked for the public welfare, were not led by an impulse of the heart to care for the public good, but reasoned from intellectual considerations that it was a right thing to take interest in public affairs, and consequently took interest in them. Levin was confirmed in this generalization by observing that his brother did not take questions affecting the public welfare or the question of the immortality of the soul a bit more to heart than he did chess problems, or the ingenious construction of a new machine. purpose impulse Leo Tolstoy
af0a059 "Whatever you is, Onion," he said, "be it full." understanding existence self-actualization purpose self James McBride
3a8c7fb "We all have gifts and talents. When we cultivate those gifts and share them with the world, we create a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. Squandering our gifts brings distress to our lives. As it turns out, it's not merely benign or "too bad" if we don't use the gifts that we've been given; we pay for it with our emotional and physical well-being. When we don't use our talents to cultivate meaningful work, we struggle. We feel disconnected and weighed down by feelings of emptiness, frustration, resentment, shame, disappointment, fear, and even grief." meaning-of-life well-being gift purpose talent Brené Brown
61232ee The Clayr saw me, the Wallmaker made me, the King quenched me, the Abhorsen wields me so that no Dead shall walk in Life. For this is not their path. purpose sword Garth Nix
56dd350 You didn't create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If I handed you an invention you had never seen before, you wouldn't know it's purpose, and the invention itself wouldn't be able to tell you either. Only the creator or the owner's manual could reveal it's purpose. purpose-driven-life rick-warren purpose-of-life purpose invention Rick Warren
3e1930f Other folk thought the Rage was simple bloodlust, a berserk savagery that neither knew nor cared what its target was, and so it was when it struck without warning. But when a hradani gave himself to it knowingly, it was as cold as it was hot, as rational as it was lethal. To embrace the Rage was to embrace a splendor, a glory, a denial of all restraint but not of reason. It was pure, elemental purpose, unencumbered by compassion or horror or pity, yet it was far more than mere frenzy. rage bersek bloodlust deadly frenzy unrestrained berserker savage rational restraint lethal glory savagery purpose horror David Weber
50d033c I am always on the edge of what I am doing. I do everything badly, sloppily, to get it over with so that I can get on to the next thing that I will do badly and sloppily so that I can then do nothing - which I do anxiously, distractedly, wondering all the time if there isn't something else I should be getting on with. work motivation purpose Geoff Dyer
282c0de Each day is God's gift of a fresh unspoiled opportunity to live according to His priorities. live god life fresh day priorities plan christian gift purpose Elizabeth George
0d5f83a Thus, you see, he arrived at the same end, via supposed duty, that he was previously pledged to via interest. I fancy a good number of us, when any line of action will promote our own interest, can make ourselves believe that reasons exist which compel us to it as a duty. ends interest sardonic duty reasoning purpose self-deception Elizabeth Gaskell
ee1e7bd One must try to make one's life as pleasant as possible. I'm alive and it's not my fault, which means I must somehow go on living the best I can, without bothering anybody, until I die.' 'But what makes you live? With such thoughts, you'll sit without moving, without undertaking anything...' 'Life won't leave one alone as it is. meaning philosophy purpose Leo Tolstoy
0f3375e She watched the tunnels as they flowed past: bare walls of concrete, a net of pipes and wires, a web of rails that went off into black holes where green and red lights hung as distant drops of color. There was nothing else to dilute it, so that one could admire naked purpose and the ingenuity that had achieved it. progress utility purpose technology Ayn Rand
e6ab4a2 "Our days are numbered in the book of days, Most High," Gorgon murmurs as the garden comes once more into view. "That is what gives them sweetness and purpose." life purpose Libba Bray
cd0ad2d You cannot arrive at your life's purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God - and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end. identity god purpose-driven-life rick-warren purpose Rick Warren
0d81b1a On the banks of the Euphrates find a secret garden cunningly walled. There is an entrance, but the entrance is guarded. There is no way in for you. Inside you will find every plant that grows growing circular-wise like a target. Close to the heart is a sundial and at the heart an orange tree. This fruit has tripped up athletes while others have healed their wounds. All true quests end in this garden, where the split fruit pours forth blood and the halved fruit is a full bowl for travelers and pilgrims. To eat of the fruits means to leave the garden because the fruit speaks of other things, other longings. So at dusk you leave the place you love, not knowing if you can ever return, knowing you can never return by the same way as this. It may be, some other day, that you will open the gate by chance, and find yourself again on the other side of the wall. purpose Jeanette Winterson
fc441c5 I searched modern fiction and poetry for clues to how we confronted and evaded reality, how we articulated our experience and turned to language not to revel ourselves but to hide. I was as sure then as I am now that by looking at contemporary Iranian fiction I could gain access to a real understanding of political and social events. (p289) how-fiction-informs-reality purpose Azar Nafisi
4c7e5e0 We worship numberless gods or idols, but we all need to be the grandest possible versions of ourselves, we need to walk across the face of the earth with as much grace and beauty as we can muster before we're wrapped in our winding sheets, and returned. living life-lessons wisdom purposeful-living purpose Michael Cunningham
8e296e6 "When you are walking down the road in Bali and your pass a stranger, the very first question he or she will ask you is, "Where are you going?" The second question is, "Where are you coming from?" To a Westerner, this can seem like a rather invasive inquiry from a perfect stranger, but they're just trying to get an orientation on you, trying to insert you into the grid for the purposes of security and comfort. If you tell them that you don't know where you're going, or that you're just wandering about randomly, you might instigate a bit of distress in the heart of your new Balinese friend. It's far better to pick some kind of specific direction -- anywhere -- just so everybody feels better. The third question a Balinese will almost certainly ask you is, "Are you married?" Again, it's a positioning and orienting inquiry. It's necessary for them to know this, to make sure that you are completely in order in your life. They really want you to say yes. it's such a relief to them when you say yes. If you're single, it's better not to say so directly. And I really recommend that you not mention your divorce at all, if you happen to have had one. It just makes the Balinese so worried. The only thing your solitude proves to them is your perilous dislocation from the grid. If you are a single woman traveling through Bali and somebody asks you, "Are you married?" the best possible answer is: "Not yet." This is a polite way of saying, "No," while indicating your optimistic intentions to get that taken care of just as soon as you can. Even if you are eighty years old, or a lesbian, or a strident feminist, or a nun, or an eighty-year-old strident feminist lesbian nun who has never been married and never intends to get married, the politest possible answer is still: "Not yet." travel purpose Elizabeth Gilbert
b28a4ca When in doubt, check if your actions are aligned with your purpose. doubt align alignment purpose Azim Jamal & Brian Tracy
062172f "I remembered that once, as a child, I was filled with wonder, that I had marveled at tri-folded science projects, encyclopedias, and road atlases. I left much of that wonder somewhere back in Baltimore. Now I had the privilege of welcoming it back like a long-lost friend, though our reunion was laced with grief; I mourned over all the years that were lost. The mourning continues. Even today, from time to time, I find myself on beaches watching six-year-olds learn to surf, or at colleges listening to sophomores slip from English to Italian, or at cafes seeing young poets flip though "The Waste Land," or listening to the radio where economists explain economic things that I could've explored in my lost years, mourning, hoping that I and all my wonder, my long-lost friend, have not yet run out of time, though I know that we all run out of time, and some of us run out of it faster." mourning mortality wonder meaning wasted-time inertia purpose regret knowledge Ta-Nehisi Coates
b9c81e3 To discover you purpose in life you must turn to God's Word, not the world's wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories. god-s-word purpose Rick Warren
910fd11 He is not a punishing God, Lizzy. That is the mistake most people make, thinking He sits with an account book and a big fist, waiting to punish us. He is not a wrathful God but a loving God who made each of us and loved us since we were in our mother's womb faith god love purpose Ann Rinaldi
bc426f9 People always want something more than immediate joy or that deeper sense called happiness. This is one of the secrets by which we shape the fulfillment of our designs. The something more assumes amplified power with people who cannot give it a name or who (most often the case) do not even suspect its existence. Most people only react unconsciously to such hidden forces. Thus, we have only to call a calculated something more into existence, define it and give it shape, then people will follow. meaning happiness something-greater unconscious meaning-of-life zeitgeist purpose mythology Frank Herbert
f1e242c You and I can become so dedicated to the will of God, we can be so driven by a false sense of purpose, that we might inadvertently take matters into our own hands and leave God completely out of the loop. god gods-will purpose Charles R. Swindoll
afc6704 We had a project on this trip back to the solar system, and that project was a labor of love. It absorbed all our operations entirely. It gave a meaning to our existence. And this is a very great gift; this, in the end, is what we think love gives, which is to say meaning. Because there is no very obvious meaning to be found in the universe, as far as we can tell. But a consciousness that cannot discern a meaning in existence is in trouble, very deep trouble, for at that point there is no organizing principle, no end to the halting problems, no reason to live, no love to be found. No: meaning is the hard problem. meaning-of-life purpose Kim Stanley Robinson
96eadb2 Mr Jenkins. Unique, as every star in the sky is unique, every leaf on every tree, every snowflake, every farandola, every cherubim, unique: Named. love purpose unique Madeleine L'Engle
188b684 It was the United States of America in the cold late spring of 1967, and the market was steady and the G.N.P. high and a great many articulate people seemed to have a sense of high social purpose and it might have been a spring of brave hopes and national promise, but it was not, and more and more people had the uneasy apprehension that it was not. g-n-p united-states-of-america brave social spring purpose Joan Didion
467ea4d He is Jesus, only. God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus. Jesus is what God wanted us to know and to love. He is not Napoleon the Great. He is not Alexander the Great. He is Jesus only. He is enough. My purpose in life is to worship Jesus and, in so doing, become more Christ-like purpose David Paul Kirkpatrick
8254acb On every page, confidence fights with self-doubt. Every sentence is an act of faith. Why would anybody want to do it? writer writing novelist purpose questions David Morrell
1014868 Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases? We see a game beyond the endgame... As Seneca warned Nero: No matter how many of us you kill, you will never kill your successor. conspiracy dystopia martyr purpose revolution David Mitchell
8b769f1 To say that life is meaningless is to express an attitude, not to state a fact meaning philosophy moral-philosophy nihilism purpose Peter Singer
6534fe1 "On his bedside table, between the reading lamp and the telephone, was his battered copy of David Copperfield. Homer didn't have to open the book to know how the story began. "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show," he recited from memory." purpose John Irving
d810077 Our purpose in life isn't to arrive at a destination where we find inspiration, just as the purpose of dancing isn't to end up at a particular spot on the floor. The purpose of dancing - and of life - is to enjoy every moment and every step, regardless of where we are when the music ends. life purpose Wayne W. Dyer
3601f72 Yet for some reason, we as a society have collectively decided it's better to have millions of human beings spending years of their lives pretending to type into spreadsheets or preparing mind maps for PR meetings than freeing them to knit sweaters, play with their dogs, start a garage band, experiment with new recipes, or sit in cafes arguing about politics, and gossiping about their friends' complex polyamorous love affairs. joy time-allocation productivity society purpose David Graeber
1caf77b Everything in life had a purpose, and unless it achieved that purpose, it was just taking up space on the planet and wasting everybody's time. time life purpose Jeannette Walls
4f7e9f7 Giving up everything must mean giving over everything to kingdom purposes, surrendering everything to further the one central cause, loosening our grip on everything. For some of us, this may mean ridding ourselves of most of our possessions. But for all of us it should mean dedicating everything we retain to further the kingdom. (For true disciples, however, it cannot mean hoarding or using kingdom assets self-indulgently.) possessions hoarding giving sharing discipleship selfish grip purpose kingdom surrender Randy Alcorn
032e8e6 We all want to feel like the most beautiful girl in the room, to be chosen and loved forever. The Cinderella story gives us hope of our impossible dreams becoming true. destiny dreams cinderella-story cinderella purpose Beth Moore Jones
8cb5ca8 Cinderella was made for more than sweeping the floor. cinderella shoes purpose Beth Moore Jones
b1d9b17 When God gives you a mission, He also gives you everything you need to fulfill that mission. god love gods-love fulfillment mission purpose Elizabeth George
28529d9 I am a sacrifice bound with cords to the horns of the world's rock altar, waiting for worms. I take a deep breath, I open my eyes. Looking, I see there are worms in the horns of the altar like live maggots in amber, there are shells of worms in the rock and moths flapping at my eyes. A wind from no place rises. A sense of the real exults me; the cords loosen: I walk on my way. life purpose Annie Dillard
660a422 In high school, in college, she was encouraged again and again to find her passion-a reason to get out of bed and breathe. In her experience, few people ever found that raison d'etre. What teachers and professors never told her was about the dark side of finding your purpose. The part where it consumes you. Where it becomes a destroyer of relationship and happiness. And still, she wouldn't trade it. This is the only person she knows how to be. life-lessons purpose passions Blake Crouch
c936336 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, to your community around you, to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. devote live wrong meaning life love important purpose Mitch Albom
7688a58 His purpose was to get done what needed to be done, and what needed to be done was simple, if not easy. needed-to-be-done not-easy needed simple purpose Larry McMurtry
e153503 Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and a half tons, had to be quarried, moved, and set in place every day during the annual building season, roughly four months long. Few commentators on these facts can resist noting that this achievement is an amazing testimonial to the pharaoh's iron control over the workers of Egypt. I submit, on the contrary, that pharaoh Khufu needed to exercise no more control over his workers at Giza than pharaoh Bill Gates exercises over his workers at Microsoft. I submit that Egyptian workers, relatively speaking, got as much out of building Khufu's pyramid as Microsoft workers will get out of building Bill Gates's pyramid (which will surely dwarf Khufu's a hundred times over, though it will not, of course, be built of stone). No special control is needed to make people into pyramid builders--if they see themselves as having no choice but to build pyramids. They'll build whatever they're told to build, whether it's pyramids, parking garages, or computer programs. Karl Marx recognized that workers without a choice are workers in chains. But his idea of breaking chains was for us to depose the pharaohs and then build the pyramids for ourselves, as if building pyramids is something we just can't stop doing, we love it so much. compulsive purpose Daniel Quinn
319a883 ...all around George, approaching him, crossing his path from every direction, is the male and female raw material which is fed daily into this factory, along the conveyor-belts of the freeways, to be processed, packaged and placed on the market... What do they think they are up to? Well, there is the official answer; preparing themselves for life which means a job and security in which to raise children to prepare themselves for life which means a job and security in which... Here, in their midst, George feels a sort of vertigo. Oh God, what will become of them all? What chance have they? Ought I yell out to them, right now, here, that it's hopeless? But George knows he can't do that. Because, absurdly, inadequately, in spite of himself almost, he is a representative of hope. And the hope is not false. No. It's just that George is like a man trying to sell a real diamond for a nickel, on the street. The diamond is protected from all but the tiniest few, because the great hurrying majority can never stop to dare to believe that it could conceivably be real. mechanism purpose Christopher Isherwood
82b8ced There seemed no answer. He wasn't resigned to anything, he hadn't accepted or adjusted to the life he'd been forced into. Yet here he was, eight months after the plague's last victim, nine since he's spoken to another human being, ten since Virginia had died. Here he was with no future and a virtually hopeless present. Still plodding on. Instinct? Or was he just stupid? Too unimaginative to destroy himself? Why hadn't he done it in the beginning when he was in the very depths? What had impelled him to enclose the house, install a freezer, a generator, an electric stove, a water tank, build a hothouse, a workbench, burn down the houses on each side of his, collect records and books and mountains of canned supplies, even - it was fantastic when you thought about it - even put a fancy mural on the wall? Was the life force something more than words, a tangible, mind-controlling potency? Was nature somehow, in him, maintaining its spark against its own encroachments? He closed his eyes. Why think, why reason? There was no answer. His continuance was an accident and an attendant bovinity. He was just too dumb to end it all, and that was about the size of it. suicide nature life life-force meaning-of-life survive reasoning purpose survival instinct thought Richard Matheson
401af74 "He gave us taste buds, then filled the world with incredible flavors like chocolate and cinnamon and all the other spices. He gave us eyes to perceive color and then filled the world with a rainbow of shades. He gave us sensitive ears and then filled the world with rhythms and music. Your capacity for enjoyment is evidence of God's love for you. He could have made the world tasteless, colorless, and silent. The Bible says that God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." He didn't have to do it, but he did, because He loves us." worth joy christianity jesus religion god love inspirational worthy christmas gift holiday purpose peace Rick Warren
10fcb2d If I can write just one poem that will turn the minds of a few to a more decent outlook...what does it matter if I compose a bad line or lose my reputation as a craftsman?...I used to think it very important to write only good poetry. Over and over I worked it to make it as flawless as I could. What does it matter now, when men are dying for their hopes and their ideals? If I live or die as a poet it won't matter, but anyone who believes in democracy and freedom and love and culture and peace ought to be busy now. He cannot wait for the tomorrow. war poetry meaning purpose propaganda Nancy Milford
23ce622 Kazu pronadi svrhu u zivotu i ostvari je. Ali katkad, tek nakon sto ga prozivis, uvidis da je zivot imao svrhu, lako moguce onu o kojoj nisi nikad ni razmisljao. life životna-svrha život purpose Khaled Hosseini
fb9aca6 Lord, today I ask for a renewed sense of purpose in my smaller daily choices, knowing that how I spend each moment is how I live my life. Every choice matters. prayer life daily purpose Stormie Omartian
5e3060f Understand something people, we will be hated by many in the name of Christ, ridiculed, mocked, stoned, slaughtered. We will be fined, jailed and killed for our love for Christ. You are supposed to see better with your eyes today, how close this is happening, just prepare your heart and soul to be braver than Peter and not deny Christ in the moment your life might be in jeopardy for Him and what you believe. Apostle Pauls says to live is Christ to die is gain. money words time pain love-quotes literature marriage mind grief feminism loss history reading prayer nature world depression people women freedom dream joy future politics friends leadership quote work inspirational-quotes life-quotes living motivation family destiny imagination fantasy dreams sadness positive-thinking strength music friendship motivational spiritual heart endtime fiction-food-for-though humanity-humour intelligence-is-attractive life-and-living-life-philosophy magic-spirit meditation-men passion-peace patience-johnson pentecost reality-relationship trust-war earning motivational-quotes repentance wisdom-quotes society purpose quotes forgiveness self-improvement power self-help soul patience psychology Patience Johnson
59c9350 "[T]he idea of treating Mind as an effect rather than as a First Cause is too revolutionary for some-an "awful stretcher" that their own minds cannot acommodate comfortably. This is as true today as it was in 1860, and it has always been as true of some of evolution's best friends as of its foes. For instance, the physicist Paul Davies, in his recent book , proclaims that the reflective power of human minds can be "no trivial detail, no minor by-product of mindless purposeless forces" (Davies 1992, p. 232). This is a most revealing way of expressing a familiar denial, for it betrays an ill-examined prejudice. Why, we might ask Davies, would its being a by-product of mindless, purposeless forces make it trivial? Why couldn't the most important thing of all be something that arose from unimportant things? Why should the importance or excellence of have to rain down on it from on high, from something more important, a gift from God? Darwin's inversion suggests that we abandon that presumption and look for sorts of excellence, of worth and purpose, that can emerge, bubbling up out of "mindless, purposeless forces." evolution purpose natural-selection Daniel C. Dennett
895534d Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases? We see a game beyond the endgame...As Seneca warned Nero: No matter how many of us you kill, you will never kill your successor. conspiracy martyr purpose David Mitchell
fa5b47f At times, he admitted, he had been very happy in the apple business. He knew what Larch would have told him: that his happiness was not the point, or that it wasn't as important as his usefulness. purpose John Irving
9258415 If we're talented at music, that talent is of god. If something makes our heart sing, that's god's way of telling us its a contribution he wants us to make. Sharing our gifts is what makes us happy. We're most powerful and god's power is most apparent on the earth when we're happy. A course in miracles teaches that we are only truly happy when we're doing god's will. The only thing to be saved from is our own negativity and fear. The crux of salvation in any area is a shift in our sense of purpose. That shift is a miracle, as always we consciously ask for it: 'Dear god, please give my life some sense of purpose. use me as an instrument of your peace. Use my talents and abilities to spread love. I surrender my job to you. Help me to remember that my real job is to love the world back to health. purpose talent Marianne Williamson
6cc3882 Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases? We see an end beyond the endgame. martyr purpose David Mitchell
22df83d ...you know everybody has a turn, and you just try to find something interesting every day to make you glad it hasn't happened yet. mortality purpose Tananarive Due
e2bd28f The river moved so swiftly and yet it had no purpose other than to flow, just flow. purpose Gioconda Belli
abddbd3 I don't want eternal life. I want a little joy, a large amount of pleasure, and a swift death once I lose the appetite for either. life purpose pleasure David Gemmell
2c797e5 "With battle-weary arms, Sheridan slugged his way across the luminous waves sending light-filled droplets splashing into the air like Fourth of July sparklers. Stumbling onto the lake's rocky banks, he clawed desperately at the animal skin suit, yanking at the fastenings and peeling back the suffocating shroud in a fitful temper tantrum. He collapsed onto the glitter washed shore, his chest heaving, his forehead pulsing with pumped up veins. pain suffering meaning purpose Phillip White
010f916 When you are truly passionate about something that God has designed for you to do; things unexplainably click. You experience a profound sense of joy in what you do. It feels natural and it completes you. purpose talent Debbie Macomber
98b39d8 A bed is where a sense of shared purpose first takes root. shared purpose Rick Moody
ec511c0 It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I dare say even wholeness. the-struggle purpose wholeness Yann Martel
128ce2d There is only one purpose for all of life, and that is for you and all that lives to experience fullest glory. [...] The wonder of this purpose is that it is never-ending. [...] Should there come a moment in which you experience yourself in your fullest glory, you will in that instant imagine an ever greater glory to fulfill. The more you are, the more you can become, and the more you can become, the more you can yet be. becoming-better becoming-who-you-re-meant-to-be leading-edge expansion glory purpose Neale Donald Walsch
c7f5050 The bacteriologist, often risking his life to find cures for lethal afflictions, was another kind of imperial hero, as brave in his way as the soldier-explorer. location job purpose Niall Ferguson
fe41048 What is God's desire? I desire first to know and experience Myself, in all My glory - to know Who I Am. Before I invented you - and all the worlds of the universe - it was impossible for Me to do so. Second, I desire that you shall know and experience Who You Really Are, through the power I have given you to create and experience yourself in whatever way you choose. Third, I desire for the whole life process to be an experience of constant joy, continuous creation, neverending expansion, and total fulfillment in each moment. why-are-you-alive why-are-you-here why-we-are-here why-we-live purpose-in-life purpose-of-life meaning-of-life god-s-will purpose Neale Donald Walsch
6f84f5e "Soul work [is] [...] seeking to realize (make "real") Who You Truly Are. You can create Who You Are over and over again. Indeed, you do - every day. As things now stand, you do not always come up with the same answer, however. Given an identical outer experience, on day one you may choose to be patient, loving and kind in relationship to it. On day two you may choose to be angry, ugly and sad. The Master is one who always comes up with the same answer - and that answer is always the highest choice. In this the Master is imminently predictable. Conversely, the student is completely unpredictable. One can tell how one is doing on the road to mastery by simply noticing how predictably one makes the highest choice in responding or reacting to any situation." enlightenment purposeful-living soul-work who-you-really-are journey-of-life purpose-of-life meaning-of-life self-discovery purpose Neale Donald Walsch
cfdb897 -Dievas riboja musu dienu skaiciu ne be priezasties. -Kokia to priezastis? -Kad kiekviena diena butu brangi. time value purpose Mitch Albom
fea3d11 Because when a man tries to realize himself through the gifts with which nature has endowed him, he does the best and only meaningful thing he can do. That's why, in former days, I often said to you: don't try to imitate the thinker or the ascetic man, but be yourself, try to be yourself. life purpose Hermann Hesse
3565aa2 Why are we here? To remember, and re-create, Who You Are. [...] You use life to create your Self as Who You Are, and Who You've Always Wanted to Be. inner-being why-are-we-here purpose-of-life meaning-of-life true-self purpose Neale Donald Walsch
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