My Life in Quotes- #91-100
91. “Religion- the relatively modest dogma that God is not mad.”- Salvador de Madariaga
Though sometimes it seems that way, doesn’t it. The incomprehensible variety of the creation, not to mention the inexplicable challenges life brings, both could lead us to question the sanity of the Creator. Without descending into the “everything happens for a reason” philosophy, de Madariaga’s claim does have a certain resonance.
92. “The liturgy both preserves and confirms the indissoluble bond between a Jew’s personhood and his Jewishness.”- Samuel E. Karff
Reading this now, I wonder precisely what Karff was thinking? There are many prayers and blessings that provide a Jewish context within our everyday lives- getting dressed, eating, moving our bodies. And the liturgy certainly connects us with the life of the Jewish people, with whom we share these words for centuries.
93. Traditional man may best be understood as homo-admirans- wondering man. He accepted his life and his environment as a meaningful gift which filled him with admiration and gratitude and responded actively by creating a community in harmony with patterns, meanings and values which he believed were homogenized into the cosmos. By contrast, modern man increasingly experiences himself in anxiety as the sole value- creating force in what is still called a uni-verse but what for many has become a chaotic multi-verse, devoid of intrinsic meaning.”- S. Keen, Apology for Wonder
Ah-Keen wrote this many years ago- 1969 to be exact. Before computers, internet, social media, cell phones, AI, and whatever comes next. His words are prescient, as the struggle for meaning and the fundamental value of gratitude are exponentially more elusive in 2025.
A prophetic text!
94. “Trifles light as air,
Are, to the jealous, confirmation strong
as proofs of Holy Writ.”- William Shakespeare
Ain’t that the truth. Jealousy is such a pernicious quality. In fact, I think even more so than Shakespeare articulates. Having had the misfortune of being in relationships with jealous individuals, I can say that jealousy can be exacerbated with not even a trifle!
95. “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”- Carl Sandburg
What a beautiful notion from Sandburg. Adults can, and often are, incredibly disappointing, yet to look at an infant is to be filled with the wonder of potential. The Talmud suggests (BT Shabbat 119b) that “The world endures for the sake of the breath of schoolchildren.” Their innocence is endlessly captivating.
96. “Men must find greatness somewhere, else the humanity dies out of them.”- Henry N. Wieman, The Source of Human Good, p. 112
Viktor Frankl taught us that the search for meaning is fundamental. Wieman echoes this perspective. God forbid we reach the point of feeling that our lives are meaningless.
97. “For getting a fine flourishing growth of stupidity, there is nothing like pouring out on a mind a good amount of subjects in which it feels no interest.”- George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss, p. 324
I love how George Eliot puts this. If you’ve ever tried to teach a group of students who are disinterested, or been in a class discussing something that is meaningless to you, you will readily shake your head in agreement with her insight.
98. “”Yes,” said Maggie, “It is with me as I used to think it would be with the poor uneasy white bear I saw at the show. I thought he must have got so stupid with the habit of turning backwards and forwards in that narrow space that he would keep doing it if they set him free. One gets the bad habit of being unhappy.””- ibid., p. 389
“The bad habit of being unhappy.” Yes. Happiness is a choice that we make. Wallowing in our unhappiness is no way to live. Unless there’s a good reason to be unhappy, which, sadly, does occur, we should awaken each day with gratitude and joy in the blessing of another day of life.
99. “Knowledge is truth captured by man and domiciled in his abode.”- Henry N. Wieman, The Source of Human Good
The breadth and depth of human knowledge is staggering. Hopefully what we identify as knowledge is truth, but hardly guaranteed.
100. “Perhaps human sexuality, more than anything else, is what renders man capable of undergoing great creative transformations in the direction of an indefinite increase of qualitative meaning.”- ibid., Henry N. Wieman, The Source of Human Good, p. 236
Wow- not sure what I was thinking of when I read this lo those many years ago. I imagine that human sexuality was a much more captivating notion to me in my 20’s when I likely encountered Wieman’s book than it is at the age of 69 when I re-read his words.
About This Series-
I love words. I love when a word exactly captures the moment, the feeling. How it precisely describes something that you experienced but didn’t know exactly how to express. It’s like a warm bath or a deeply satisfying meal.
And beyond that- a collection of words. A deeply insightful phrase, thought-provoking and uplifting. A quote to remember.
I started collecting quotes when I was 16 years old. (1972) I’m 69 now, as I write these words, (2024), and there are 473 quotes in my collection. At this precise moment.
That’s not really that many over the course of 53 years. I guess I am fairly discriminating. Sometimes years can go by and the collection lays dormant. In other years there is a great harvest of quotes.
These are not necessarily famous quotes, things you’ll often hear referenced. For the most part, they simply represent words that I read that made me stop for a moment to meditate and bask in their impact. And quotes I enjoy reading and re-reading and quoting myself!
These quotes represent the evolution of my thinking over the course of 53 years. I look forward to pondering what it is that made me find each one meaningful enough to save.