The Unexpected is What Changes Our Lives

I love quotes or little anecdotes that capture the essence of a situation. I have been thinking of all that has happened the past month and find myself thinking of the inspiring words of others. So I share the those thoughts that have been pressing on my mind, beginning with the inspiration for my blog.

-But sometimes our expectations sell us short. Sometimes the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You've got to wonder why we cling to our expectations. Because the expected is just what keeps us steady. Standing. Still. The expected is just the beginning. The unexpected is what changes our lives

-Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

-Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don't want it badly enough.

-There was this law of life, both so cruel and so just, that demanded one must grow or else pay more for staying the same.

-Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

-Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.

-To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless; to forego even ambition when the end is gained - who can say this is not greatness?

-Adversity has a way of challenging all of us, sooner or later. How we collectively bear up to the pressures of unexpected tragedy, how we care for and honor those who suffer loss, how we hold on to our values despite the seductive lure of simple, quick and easy solutions to the complex problems we face — how we deal with such things defines us forever.