Throughout history, people have found that inspiring quotes can offer more than simple respite during an inexplicable period. What makes each reach into our hearts and minds is unique, and frequently connects to the context in which the words were said. Lou Gehrig, who had to leave his baseball career behind after a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), addressed the crowd attending a "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" ceremony on July 4, 1939 by saying: "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. . . . I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you."
Both the quote and all that was behind it later inspired others to do creative work that reinforced the words he spoke. Ogden Nash, a poet, included Gehrig in his work "Lineup For Yesterday."
Filmmakers and novelists, too, have taken his words and his story as an inspiration. The American Film Institute voted "The Pride of the Yankees, " starring Gary Cooper among the best 100 films in 2003. Books like the "Luckiest Man, " by Jonathan Eig (2005) further show that his words have become a defining part of his legacy as a person.
Yet, many quotations that speak to us reach a more generic human strain, for not all of us are well known heroes. This is the case with the "Serenity Prayer." Adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and written by Reinhold Niebuhr, the prayer states: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
In other cases, someone who has penned words or ideas that have grown out of personal experience offers such a robust expression that their works later are defined as literature and/or philosophy. Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897), a French writer, wrote of pain with so much poignant that his words have endured. Similarly, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who like Daudet was syphilitic, is frequently quoted. He said, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."
The words of creative people who excel also motivate us and encourage a reaching out to life without fear, even when facing the incomprehensible. Stephen W. Hawking, a cosmologist who now holds the professorship at Cambridge University once occupied by Isaac Newton (1664-1669), like Gehrig, was diagnosed with ALS. He was quite young at the time and working toward his PhD.
Although he was told that he would suffer a progressive loss of muscle control and probably a shortened life, he continued to pursue his cosmological research. Now 62, his life includes many achievements and awards. According to Hawking, "I'm sure my disability has a bearing on why I am well known. People are fascinated by the contrast between my very limited physical powers, and the vast nature of the universe I deal with."
Inspiring quotes speak to a side of life that we often want to put into words and feel are beyond language. One oft quoted individual, Helen Keller, like Gehrig, has inspired many creative works because both her words and her story give us courage to face inexplicable and mysterious situations. One of her most quoted remarks speaks of how important it is to see the door that is open to us, rather than concentrating on the one that is now closed.
Both the quote and all that was behind it later inspired others to do creative work that reinforced the words he spoke. Ogden Nash, a poet, included Gehrig in his work "Lineup For Yesterday."
Filmmakers and novelists, too, have taken his words and his story as an inspiration. The American Film Institute voted "The Pride of the Yankees, " starring Gary Cooper among the best 100 films in 2003. Books like the "Luckiest Man, " by Jonathan Eig (2005) further show that his words have become a defining part of his legacy as a person.
Yet, many quotations that speak to us reach a more generic human strain, for not all of us are well known heroes. This is the case with the "Serenity Prayer." Adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and written by Reinhold Niebuhr, the prayer states: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
In other cases, someone who has penned words or ideas that have grown out of personal experience offers such a robust expression that their works later are defined as literature and/or philosophy. Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897), a French writer, wrote of pain with so much poignant that his words have endured. Similarly, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who like Daudet was syphilitic, is frequently quoted. He said, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."
The words of creative people who excel also motivate us and encourage a reaching out to life without fear, even when facing the incomprehensible. Stephen W. Hawking, a cosmologist who now holds the professorship at Cambridge University once occupied by Isaac Newton (1664-1669), like Gehrig, was diagnosed with ALS. He was quite young at the time and working toward his PhD.
Although he was told that he would suffer a progressive loss of muscle control and probably a shortened life, he continued to pursue his cosmological research. Now 62, his life includes many achievements and awards. According to Hawking, "I'm sure my disability has a bearing on why I am well known. People are fascinated by the contrast between my very limited physical powers, and the vast nature of the universe I deal with."
Inspiring quotes speak to a side of life that we often want to put into words and feel are beyond language. One oft quoted individual, Helen Keller, like Gehrig, has inspired many creative works because both her words and her story give us courage to face inexplicable and mysterious situations. One of her most quoted remarks speaks of how important it is to see the door that is open to us, rather than concentrating on the one that is now closed.
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