"Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."  ~Voltaire

"So often time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key." ~The Eagles, "Already Gone"

"Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious."  ~Bill Meyer

"Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed."
~Attributed to both Jonathan Swift and Benjamin Franklin

"Whenever you fall, pick something up."  ~Oswald Avery

"Some days there won't be a song in your heart.  Sing anyway."  ~Emory Austin

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song."  ~Swedish Proverb

Today I'm posting quotes about being thankful, grateful, kind, courteous and appreciative - to each other, and to ourselves.  The irony of these quotes is that during a time of year when all those things I mention are not what I see or hear, but rather people who are full with greed, selfishness, and unkind actions.  Too many people do miss life's "silver lining" because they are "expecting gold"!  It's now the "gimme pig" time of year! ... gimme this, gimme that mentality ... and "what's in it, for me" ...

"Physical strength is measured by what we can carry; spiritual by what we can bear."  ~Author Unknown

"Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day."  ~Author Unknown

"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart."  ~Henry Clay

"You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold. "  ~Maurice Setter

"No one is useless in this world  who lightens the burden of another."  ~Charles Dickens

"None of those material possessions do anything to make your life any better ... I know a lot of people who have a lot of everything, and they're absolutely the most miserable people in the world.   So it won't do anything for you unless you're a happy person and can have peace with yourself."  ~Lenny Kravitz

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."  ~Willie Nelson

"Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting."  ~Author Unknown

"To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it."  ~Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy."  ~Ralph H. Blum

"Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel."  ~Unknown

"It isn’t what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart."  ~Unknown
I would say, "It isn't what you have in your wallet that makes you rich, but rather what you have in your heart!"  ~nr lenz

"Attitudes are contagious.  Are yours worth catching?"  ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

"Some days there won't be a song in your heart.  Sing anyway."  ~Emory Austin

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song."  ~Swedish Proverb

"Don't be so humble--you are not that great."  ~Golda Meir

"A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water."  ~Unknown
 
"Bad luck is bending over to pick up a four-leaf clover and being infected by poison ivy."  ~Unknown
 
"Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men."  ~Kin Hubbard

"Some see the glass as half-empty, some see the glass as half-full. I see the glass as too big."  ~George Carlin

"Have no fear of perfection--you'll never reach it."  ~Salvador Dali

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out.  A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun!'"  ~Unknown

"There are two different kinds of people in this world: those who finish what they start, and ..."  ~Brad Ramsey
 
"I'm so far gone that I'm telling the truth. It sounds like a foreign language."
~Father Figure by Richard Peck
 
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools.  Let's start with typewriters."  ~Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)

"Sometimes you're the windshield; sometimes you're the bug."  ~Mark Knopfler.

"As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it."
~Dick Cavett

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
~Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)

The Next Time You Think You're Perfect, Try Walking On Water  ~Unknown

It's so frustrating when I get a post nearly done, don't "save to drafts", accidently hit the wrong button ... and gonzo, ugh ... my choice of words, and feelings never quite resonate the same when I try to recreate what has just been lost.  My focus this morning was on travel, life, and experiences therein ... guess I'll begin ... again ... as I am ...

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” ~Jack Kerouac
I consider battered suitcases all my life experiences ... no matter the road taken, no matter if I'm tattered and torn, weathered and worn, my suitcase may be battered, but not beaten and unusable - my character, integrity, humor, and wit are intertwined within the threads of my life's quilt, that's tucked inside!  ~nr lenz

"Two men look out through the same bars; one sees the mud and one sees the stars."
~Frederick Langbridge (1849-1923)

"In youth we learn; in age we understand."  ~Marie Ebner-Eschenbach
I always thought that would, generally, be true. Instead, I find that some people NEVER "get it"!

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."  ~John Gardner
... life's sketches with permanent ink, and sometimes the ink well runs dry ... ~ nr lenz

"Thought, creativity and learning arise from experience."  ~Carla Hannaford
 If you're lucky, and listening!  ~nr lenz

"A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a lifetime’s experience."  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
I would call this, Oprah's "Aha" moments ...  ~nr lenz

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."  ~Carl Sandburg

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."  ~Indian saying