Thought for the day

As we strive to make it through difficult times, hearing the wisdom of those who have struggled, questioned and dreamed before us can make the journey easier. When you feel the struggle is wearing you down, explore these 20 quotations for the inspiration and hope you need to continue on.

1. "We must accept infinite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."
2. "Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings."
3. "Fall seven times, stand up eight."
4. "Prosperity is not without many fears and disasters; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes."
5. "Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines."
6. "The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests."
7. "The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."
8. "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail."
9. "We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."
10. "We should always pray for help, but we should always listen for inspiration and impression to proceed in ways different from those we may have thought of."
11. "Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew."
12. "A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."
13. "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
14. "Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment."
15. "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
16. "Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
17. "The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being."
18. "What you thought before has led to every choice you have made, and this adds up to you at this moment. If you want to change who you are physically, mentally, and spiritually, you will have to change what you think."
19. "Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore, we are saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we are saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone. Therefore, we are saved by love.  No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own; therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness."
20. "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

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