@Mictorrani 9 December 2021 edited

Prompt: Favourite Quote

This is inspired by @Theblackdoll's recent post: Favorite Quote – Prompt!!, where she writes: https://read.cash/@Theblackdoll https://read.cash/@Theblackdoll/favorite-quote-prompt-9bc92a3e “*[,,,] I wanna know "****Your favorite quote that you have ever heard.. your fav quote that inspired you so much so that you actually take it very seriously in your life and Live and swear by it??"*** Since I have been reading copiously since I was a child, and also taken notes from my reading – I have collected thousands of quotes that way – this question caught my attention. Since I have many quotes in my notes (long-time members are aware of some small collections I have previously published here), it is hard to pick out one or a few as absolute favourites. https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/index-over-my-articles-at-read-cash-5f7c1e34#quotes-proverbs-sayings The most important quote in my life, has been the first four lines of Edgar Allan Poe's poem “Alone”: *From childhood's hour I have not been* *As others were; I have not seen* *As others saw; I could not bring* *My passions from a common spring.* I wrote about that in Poe: A Personal View: https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/poe-a-personal-view-d1e75708 “*My strongest experience of Poe, however, was the first time I laid my eyes on a poem called “Alone”. It struck me as a thunderbolt, because it was about me. That is to say, of course it was not about me, it was about Poe himself, but it could have been about me. It expressed exactly what I did feel myself.”* The realization of that I was not the only one ever having had that feeling, made it somehow legitimate to be like that; I could suddenly appreciate to be an outsider, even actively choose to be one. (Read The Strength of Being an Outsider (by choice), for more details about what I mean with chosen outsidership.) https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/the-strength-of-being-an-outsider-by-choice-0afbebe4 Since I written about this quote before, I will bring up two other of my many favourite quotes, the first of which is: “*Know this and know it well: time is never wasted. Wherever we go, whatever we do, everything is an aspect of education. Even when we don't immediately grasp the lesson.”* This was written by author Robert Silverberg. The words did not really change my life, but it expressed exactly my own view on life, time and education. My life has been dramatic; I'd say that this approach has made it easier for me to deal with tragedies throughout it. Whatever happens, however bad I feel about it, I can never feel sorry for myself; I always find something in it that is interesting, something I can learn something from, something that can make me grow as a person. Every experience is valuable, and bad experiences are no exception; processed by the mind, they become the soil from which wisdom can grow. No experience is wasted. It also expresses another important point, namely that education doesn't equal schools – *“everything is an aspect of education”.* Schools can be a part of it, but it neither begins nor ends there. This leads us to another quote about how the hard times of life can be those from which we benefit the most. “*A tree may be bent by harsh winds, but it is no less beautiful than the tree that grows in a sheltered nook, and often it bears the richer fruit.”* (Dorothy Gilman) Adversity is necessary for growth, creativity and genuine beauty. A smooth, easy life is more comfortable, but, in my opinion, it is a life wasted. Comfort kills. Søren Kirkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher, expressed this in another way: “*To dare is to lose one's foothold for a moment.* *Not to dare is to lose oneself.”* It is necessary to take risks, to stick out the chin and challenge life, otherwise we wither and die. How about describing this in a more dramatic way? These are the final words of "La Voyage", by French poet Charles Baudelaire: *"Nous voulons tant ce feu nous brûle le cerveau,* *Plonger au fond du gouffre, Enfer ou Ciel, qu'importe?* *Au fond de l'Inconnu pour trouver du nouveau!"* *("This fire so scorches our brain, that we wish* *To plunge into the depth of the gulf, Hell or Heaven, who cares?* *To find something new in the depths of the Unknown!")* If we fear the "unknown", we will never grow, never find new knowledge. Related articles: Poe: A Personal View https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/poe-a-personal-view-d1e75708 Some Favourite Quotes https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/some-favourite-quotes-74e09ee3 With a Touch of Humour - More Quotes https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/with-a-touch-of-humour-more-quotes-fd81e97f Horror Quotes https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/horror-quotes-79e04800 Antibigbrotherism Quotes – and about Creating a New Word https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/antibigbrotherism-quotes-and-about-creating-a-new-word-f023a8f7 Crypto Quotes + Comments https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/crypto-quotes-comments-0acda416 Nietzsche: Selected Quotes & Brief Comments https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/nietzsche-selected-quotes-brief-comments-48384f44 Copyright © 2021 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved. *(Lead image by Pretty Sleepy Art/Pixabay, CC0/Public Domain.)* Here you find my articles about Quotes, Proverbs & Sayings. https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/index-over-my-articles-at-read-cash-5f7c1e34#quotes-proverbs-sayings You find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic, here. https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/index-over-my-articles-at-read-cash-5f7c1e34 My 5 most recent articles: Karkadé & Rooibos: Red Teas with Health Effects https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/karkade-rooibos-red-teas-with-health-effects-5c61e9b6 Retrospection 13 (Reading, Literature & History of Literature, Authors & Books) https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/retrospection-13-518614d7 To Do or Not To Do – The Golden (or Not so Golden) Rule https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/to-do-or-not-to-do-the-golden-or-not-so-golden-rule-0c566891 Suggested Reading 11 https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/suggested-reading-11-7838570f Colour & Cosmology II - Religions https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/colour-cosmology-ii-religions-78bb5ae6