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1 " Our true friends are those who are with us when the good things happen. They cheer us on and are pleased by our triumphs. False friends only appear at difficult times, with their sad, supportive faces, when, in fact, our suffering is serving to console them for their miserable lives. "
― Paulo Coelho , The Zahir
2 " When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises. "
― Paulo Coelho , The Alchemist
3 " I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on the good things still in my life. I don't allow myself any more self-pity than that. A little each every morning, a few tears, and that's all. "
― Mitch Albom , Tuesdays with Morrie
4 " Want something else more than success. Success is a lovely thing, but your desire to say something, your worth, and your identity shouldn’t rely on it, because it’s not guaranteed and it’s not permanent and it’s not sufficient. So work hard, fall in love with the writing—the characters, the story, the words, the themes—and make sure that you are who you are regardless of your life circumstances. That way, when the good things come, they don’t warp you, and when the bad things hit you, you don’t fall apart. "
― Veronica Roth
5 " If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments. He will take you by the hand and His promises will be kept. "
― Howard W. Hunter
6 " It is a common condition of being poor... you are always afraid that the good things in your life are temporary, that someone can take them away, because you have no power beyond your own brute strength to stop them. "
― Rick Bragg
7 " And the time sundials tellMay be minutes and hours. But it may just as wellBe seconds and sparkles, or seasons and flowers.No, I don't think of time as just minutes and hours.Time can be heartbeats, or bird songs, or miles,Or waves on a beach, or ants in their files(They do move like seconds—just watch their feet go:Tick-tick-tick, like a clock). You'll learn as you growThat whatever there is in a garden, the sunCounts up on its dial. By the time it is doneOur sundial—or someone's— will certainly addAll the good things there are. Yes, and all of the bad.And if anyone's here for the finish, the sunWill have told him—by sundial—how well we have done.How well we have done, or how badly. Alas,That is a long thought. Let me hope we all pass. "
― John Ciardi , The Monster Den: or Look What Happened at My House — and to It
8 " By thinking of the good things you want to happen as part of a regular routine, you are creating a positive energy. "
9 " People spend way too much time with hatred, jealousy, and drama when kindness is so easy. Grab a hold of the good things in life; they’ll take you to places you’ve never been. "
― Ron Baratono , The Writings of Ron Baratono
10 " The usual notion of prayer is so absurd. How can those who know nothing about it, who pray little or not at all, dare speak so frivolously of prayer? A Carthusian, a Trappist will work for years to make of himself a man of prayer, and then any fool who comes along sets himself up as judge of this lifelong effort. If it were really what they suppose, a kind of chatter, the dialogue of a madman with his shadow, or even less—a vain and superstitious sort of petition to be given the good things of this world, how could innumerable people find until their dying day, I won't even say such great 'comfort'—since they put no faith in the solace of the senses—but sheer, robust, vigorous, abundant joy in prayer? Oh, of course—suggestion, say the scientists. Certainly they can never have known old monks, wise, shrewd, unerring in judgement, and yet aglow with passionate insight, so very tender in their humanity. What miracle enables these semi-lunatics, these prisoners of their own dreams, these sleepwalkers, apparently to enter more deeply each day into the pain of others? An odd sort of dream, an unusual opiate which, far from turning him back into himself and isolating him from his fellows, unites the individual with mankind in the spirit of universal charity!This seems a very daring comparison. I apologise for having advanced it, yet perhaps it might satisfy many people who find it hard to think for themselves, unless the thought has first been jolted by some unexpected, surprising image. Could a sane man set himself up as a judge of music because he has sometimes touched a keyboard with the tips of his fingers? And surely if a Bach fugue, a Beethoven symphony leave him cold, if he has to content himself with watching on the face of another listener the reflected pleasure of supreme, inaccessible delight, such a man has only himself to blame.But alas! We take the psychiatrists' word for it. The unanimous testimony of saints is held as of little or no account. They may all affirm that this kind of deepening of the spirit is unlike any other experience, that instead of showing us more and more of our own complexity it ends in sudden total illumination, opening out upon azure light—they can be dismissed with a few shrugs. Yet when has any man of prayer told us that prayer had failed him? "
― Georges Bernanos , The Diary of a Country Priest
11 " The good man is neither uplifted with the good things of time, nor broken by its ills; but the wicked man, because he is corrupted by this world's happiness, feels himself punished by its unhappiness. "
― Augustine of Hippo , City of God
12 " Read. As much as you can. As deeply and widely and nourishingly and irritatingly as you can. And the good things will make you remember them, so you won't need to take notes. "
― A.L. Kennedy
13 " We do not need to plan or devise a " world of the future" ; if we take care of the world of the present, the future will have received full justice from us. A good future is implicit in the soils, forests, grasslands, marshes, deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans that we have now, and in the good things of human culture that we have now; the only valid " futurology" available to us is to take care of those things. We have no need to contrive and dabble at " the future of the human race" ; we have the same pressing need that we have always had - to love, care for, and teach our children.(pg. 73, " Feminism, the Body, and the Machine" ) "
14 " Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling? The reason is clearly that the human heart as modern civilisation has made it is more prone to hatred than to friendship. And it is prone to hatred because it is dissatisfied, because it feels deply, perhaps even unconsciously, that it has somehow missed the meaning of life, that perhaps others, but not we ourselves, have secured the good things which nature offers man's enjoyment. "
― Bertrand Russell , The Conquest of Happiness
15 " Don’t give up on yourself. It’s incredibly cliche, but it’s true. The worst is yet to come if you give up on yourself. Hold yourself in high regard, and know that, though the ride may be bumpy and uncomfortable, there is a silver lining. You have to be able to see the good things in all that happens to you. "
― Leigh Hershkovich
16 " Lord, I intend to be aware today of the presence of your divine being in every other living being that I encounter.I intend to center my spirit in alignment with the spirit of Love before I commence my day.I intend to ground my being in your source, Universal Intentional Love Energy, recognizing my role as a cell in the body of the universe.I intend to be loving and compassionate with every person I encounter today, observing their activities in the context of their growth, and not judging their decisions as good or bad. I intend not to attempt to blame or shame other people, but rather to encourage and support.I intend to be creative today, emulating the divine creative essence in my life.I intend to be joyful today, aware of what good things I have, picking up the scent of wonder, and breathing in the good things with thanks and appreciation.I intend to reject any opinion of other people offered which negatively affects my ability to achieve the above goals.I am blessed and will be grateful for the presence of love in my life.I will grow today, learning more and applying love to the best of my ability. "
17 " Let’s take it slow because some of the good things in life are worthy of reverence and appreciation. Let’s take it slow because what we have is like a cross-country ride, where all the breathtaking scenes must be breathed in and stared at with wonder. Let’s take it slow because getting to know you is like a trip to a museum where things, both wonderful and gruesome, are waiting to be discovered. Let’s take it slow because some things are best done at a leisurely pace — the slow dance, the first kiss, making love. "
― , Snippets of Imagery
18 " ... Papa's always had the ability to remember the good things and let the bad ones go." " Not a bad ability." " ... I'm not sure. I think we have to remember it all before we can forgive it. "
19 " None of us deserve the good things that come our way. It's by grace, love and forgiveness that any of us experience joy. "
― J.B. McGee , Forgiven (This, #4)
20 " Nothing can escape death. Not even the Sun. Not even the Earth. Not even the universeEveryone will have to embrace their eternal sleep someday. It can happen anytime. Anywhere. And at any location.It is Sudden.Many people die filled with regret.Regret that they didn't get their dream job.Regret that they didn't listen to their parents.Regret that they didn't confide to their crush.Regret that they didn't get into a better high school.But most of all, they regret that they haven't live life to it's fullest.That they didn't try out everything in the world. That they didn't get to see much of it.Few people die with happiness.It is because they have seen everything.It is because they have travelled to nearly every place on Earth.It is because they have done good in the world.It is because they know that they have enjoyed life and have made Earth a more enjoyable place for future generations.Those people that die with no regrets have chosen a better path. They pursued their dreams.They followed it.They completed it.And they accomplished it.Those people are worth following. Those people are worth remembering.So let's remember them.And never forget the good things that they have left in this world. "
― Hina Yu