Great quotes are inspiring. Sometimes purely because of their author but mostly a great quote perfectly articulates a thought that we have struggled to voice ourselves but is nonetheless strongly held. And a truly great quote articulates a thought or conviction we didn't even know we had until someone gives it voice. Instantly it becomes our own.
Jack London on living life to the fullest:
I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
Richard Burton on the wonder of world travel
"One of the gladdest moments in life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy... The blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood... afresh dawns the morn of life."
Kevin Patterson on languor
"Languor is underrated. It is not possible to be immobile in modern urban society except by dint of constant effort. Holding on tightly to the riverbank and fighting the current is not languor. Nobody likes that. But bone-lazy idleness, hours and hours spent staring at the sky and remembering books and birthdays and great kisses: this is a pure pleasure that eludes the productive in all their confident superiority. Languor is sunny and hot. It is at home near the sea and is best appreciated in environments of beauty and limited promise. It contains within it the idea of boredom, but is also coloured by idle fancy, and the understanding that some things proceed best with limited attention. Fishing, for instance. If you're always reeling in an checking your bait, you'll only worsen your chances. Relax."
The above quote is taken from an excellent book entitled "The Water in Between," about a neophyte sailor who decides abruptly to buy a boat and sail to Tahiti. Specifically, the quote is written while the author describes being becalmed in the doldrums around the equator.
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