Quotes

I read a book recently that included many quotes scattered throughout its pages. What does one do with all these interesting quotes? I decided to occasionally post different quotes that I’ve enjoyed over the years on my blog. 😉

I’ve included two quotes on this post. They are very different from each other (and were not included in the book I read recently), but they have hung around me for a long time and are two of my favorites. So I’ll start with these.

“The cure for anything is salt water: 
sweat, tears or the sea.”

Isak Dinesen

While I understand salt water, sweat and tears do not cure everything, especially diseases, I do believe they can be good cures for emotional ailments. For me, I think escaping to the sea (or any body of water) is beneficial; “There’s no place I would rather be than by the shore or on the sea” is a line from a poem I wrote, years ago.

Tears are also cleaning for me. They don’t come easily, but when they do, it’s significant.

And then, there’s this quote on listening:

To “listen” another’s soul into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be almost the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another.

                                            Douglas V. Steere

Listening was the main focus of a ministry I was involved in years ago: Stephen Ministries. I try to continue to practice to this day, the lessons I learned back then.

Along that line – although not a quote – someone pointed this out:

Silent has the same letters as the word listen.

It’s a good reminder… to take time… to be silent (so we can hear) and listen to one another.