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I read a quote today that has been jingling around in my brain, tugging at my conscious mind and making me wear my glasses. It really is only a simple sentence that Mark Twain once said:
You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus
And while these wonderful words have been tumbling around in my mind I couldn’t help but think about all those inspirational quotes that we see, read or even collect every single day.
As I pondered the reason behind our fascination with wise words and quirky quotes I stumbled upon an article in Psychologies dealing with just that topic. It seems that the reason behind us “inspire-bombing” various social media sites and tweeting uplifting words, is that they motivate us to go from negative to positive in an instant.
Another reason is that without too much effort we can chew on bite size wisdom. No need to read those chunky philosophy books to find a ray of sun between the clouds, nor do we have to research world religions for some spiritual guidance, just a quick click onto facebook, printertest or twitter and we can reap what others have sown.
It also means that we don’t always have to admit to our own thoughts, feelings or ideas but we can hide behind the words of others, protecting our inner emotions from being too exposed. However maybe that also means we distance ourselves from our true feelings, put a lovely label on it instead of truly allowing ourselves to deal with what it is going on inside.
So with that in mind maybe I should try to focus my own imagination, instead of putting on my glasses and finding someone else’s words to express my dreams.
It’s about the journey…the whole journey…the full meal deal so to speak.
Right or wrong or side tracked…it will always be about the journey.
And…you make your own
Or…you make it your own.
Just…own it.
She said, smiling, to Missy JB
As a “word hoarder” I always grab what I can get, muddle them up and make it very much mine
I love quotes, for all the reasons above! I love the power behind putting letters together to make words, and words together to make sentences, and stumbling across a line in a book, a sound bite from a movie or a quote on Pinterest and having that “a-ha!” moment… Doctor Phil light bulbs going off all over the show, providing jumping off points for more creativity!
I so agree … and as long as we still find our own words I will keep quoting the all those wonderful words out there
a good post. I think I love quotes because the ones that support the way I think show me that I’m not alone in my thinking. I recently read that a lot of the studies that are done, most people already intuitively know the results but need a study to back it up and give it weight. then again if I were conducting a study I would start with a theory and then gather specific data to back it up!
I suppose that is what we all kind of do, try and support what we think … back it up so to speak. Food for thought this morning
Great post! As for reading chunky philosophy books, if you like your quotes in heavier doses, I recommend Chesterton. In books like “Orthodoxy”, “Heretics” etc. I estimate he averages 3 to 4 nuggets of wisdom worth putting in a frame per paragraph.
Oh, and another thing – your Mark Twain quote is a great example of the kind of aphorism I like best – the kind that reverses your perspective in a surprising way. I think that’s one reason why the best quotes have the power to infuse us with positive energy – because they kick us out of our accustomed rut of looking at things and show us a larger world, with more possibilities and more freedom. That’s refreshing.
I so agree, and you put it so well. Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed
Yes – I get this!
thanks for reading
Bombarded with modivational quotes isn’t a good thing either….IMHO it comes to a point where you no longer see the words nor contemplate their meaning….
….Belated Happy New Year. Hope life is being good to you!
you too, haven’t seen (read) you in a while … and I hope 2013 is wonderful for you