Courage

I am a keeper of quotes. 

I am a firm believer that if someone has already said it better than you, then let them say it.

I am a reader and a listener and an observer. I collect words like others collect pieces of delicate crystal or rare stamps or shards of sea glass, smoothed and shaped by the pounding of thousands of waves.

Because words, wise words, are all of those things -- delicate, precious, rare, hidden.

I collect from all paths in life -- friends, movies, politicians, books -- but books are, by far, my favorite. I visit them time and time again, culling from them a guidebook to my own peace. 

My favorite book contains many of my favorite quotes, but this one is perhaps the one closest to my heart these days. When I see the world, I am often dismayed at its state. I do not understand the ways in which we hate, both big and small. I look to my own world, both personal and professional, and I find so many reasons to quit. But I can't because "you rarely win but sometimes you do".  

I want to lead a life of courage. To stand up when it is easier to step back. To fight when it's easier to give in. To struggle, to live, to ask for help, to give my heart, to share my soul -- even those jagged pieces, smoothed and shaped by the pounding seas.