What I do when reading a whole book is not possible? Pluck gems of wisdom from quote treasure troves online! I found five today that got my brain cells delightfully massaged.


I love reading quotes for the sheer reason that I like devouring nuggets of wisdom, mere observations made throughout time by people from all walks of life that are either still living or have long gone.

It still surprises me sometimes that somewhere along the time line, centuries behind, someone had thought of something that resonated so strongly with me, today whether through wit, truth, satire or a marvelous streak of feistiness as I love, love me some incisive words that tell it like it is.

Discovering bits of people in their written or spoken words is something I actively engage on the daily though listening or reading the local has made me yearn for selective deafness. I do it as I'm a sucker for stories and even as I close my lids to greet sleep, words play in the background of my mind as I attempt to make sense of them or arrange them like puzzle pieces to be solved or made into an unintentional poem.

I've chosen 5 quotes ― I've only just read for the first time ever in my life ― from Sarah Bird, novelist (born 1949), Hafez Ibrahim, poet (born 1872), Adrienne Monnier, poet (born 1892), Nicholas Wolterstorff, philosopher (born 1932) and Zuangzhi (born 369 BC) to sprinkle this space with a blast of wisdom from the past!

"Love makes intellectual pretzels of us all." - Sarah Bird

"A mother is a school. Empower her; and you empower a great nation." - Hafez Ibrahim

"I can easily do without people (there are days when I could easily do without myself), and ... in the country of books where I dwell, the dead can count entirely as much as the living." - Adrienne Monnier

"Choice is always performed against a background of habit." - Nicholas Wolterstorff

"Reason, I sacrifice you to the evening breeze." - Aime Cesaire

"If you want to nourish a bird, you should let it live any way it chooses. Creatures differ because they have different likes and dislikes. Therefore the sages never require the same ability from all creatures. . . concepts of right should be founded on what is suitable. The true saint leaves wisdom to the ants, takes a cue from the fishes, and leaves willfulness to the sheep." - Zhuangzi

Like any of the quotes? Do you stalk quotes online as a hobby too? Share one you think add so much value to your life down below.