Meaningful Quotes

They say that we can and should learn from everybody we meet, that each person can offer us lessons in life.  However, wise people can be few and far between and the lessons people have to teach may more often be about what NOT to do.  Where do we turn for positive examples that can directly inspire us to be better people, as opposed to models that show us how not to be?  If you can't find wise people, or even if you can, meaningful quotes can be helpful in getting us to think in a way  where we could change certain habits and come to see life in a more positive way that can have a direct positive impact on our actions.  Because there's a shared sentiment that our thoughts directly impact our lives, that we create our own realities, and finding the right meaningful quotes and sayings may be a big part of the puzzle in allowing us to live up to our highest potential.  In this article, you will find quotes that have had a personal impact on the author, which may also serve to create some sort of internal change in the reader. Read on, and enjoy these famous meaningful quotes about life and love.

Let's start with those short meaningful quotes that pack a punch.  They're easy to remember, and you even casually use them in conversation where appropriate. 
"Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it with use."
-- Ruth Gordon
It's true of so many things that if we don't use it, we lose it.  Actually, "lose it or lose it" is a classic short quote that is very useful on its own.  It applies to language, our bodies, and qualities like courage.  The nice thing about this quote is that it also points to the idea that we become what we do, that by doing positive things that we may initially be uncomfortable with, we can get good at them.
For people who feel like they're in a slump, or that a certain moment has passed them by, consider that "It's never too late— in fiction or in life— to revise." (Nancy Thayer).  The past is done, and even though where we are in the present is a reflection of our choices in each moment, we always have the moment in which to make the changes in our lives that we sometimes desperately want to see.  When faced with challenging odds or circumstances, it's helpful to remember that there's always time to change- it can happen in an instant, and in every instant. 
The amazing wordsmith Alice Walker was quoted as saying: "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any."  This quote is related to the one by Nancy Thayer in that again, if we think it, chances are we can achieve it.  Our thoughts are so powerful, they can make or break us.  This quote points to the importance of believing in ourselves (because we each have something important to contribute to the world), and comments also on the prevalance of people who don't realize that they are important in the best sense of the word.
As a useful complement to these quotes, it's useful to remember that "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." (John Quincy Adams).  Because positive thoughts don't usually just make themselves right at home in our minds.  If we decide that thinking and feeling a certain way is important to us, we usually need to put in the effort to make sure it really becomes "us".  So hang in there when it comes to making the changes you want to see in your life!
Of course, love is the most important thing in our life, and meaningful quotes about love are always welcome.  But instead of including quotes about romantic love, I've decided to write on that far grander universal love.  Because love is understanding and acceptance, and much more than the lustful attraction associated with passionate love.  This is reflected in something George Washington Carver had to say about the matter, without mentioning the word "love" at all: "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."  What are the actions contained in this quote but actions of love?  Implicit in this quote is also the importance of loving yourself, and Carver seems to be saying that loving others as yourself is the best way to go about it.  To me, that's what true love is.

I think it's funny that some of the quotes that contain the most truth about the subject of love don't even seem to be speaking of "love".  They're not about infatuation and the pain of losing someone, or of finding Mr. Right, they're about being a good human being.  Maybe the line of  thinking that puts romantic love on a pedestal is a big reason there's so many divorces and unhappy couples.  Contrast ideas about romantic love with the following quote from the great spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hahn: 
"When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and arguments. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding."  This quote says more about real love than any you're likely to find in the mainstream. 
I hope that these meaningful quotes about life and love have resonated with the reader.  When we read them, they give us room to reflect on how the wisdom contained within applies to our lives.  They challenge us to clarify what's really important to us, what's holding us back and what we can do to change.  They are meant to help, to inspire, and to give us support in being all we were meant to be.