The great thing about books is that they provide ideas for thought that are new to you. Like planting a seed in the ground, your thoughts can grow from someone else’s ideas, and today I am grateful for the many thoughts I have read from the great Ralph Waldo Emerson.  When I read the words RWE has written, they always spark a new light of thought. Of Course, it would be unrealistic to share a million views, but here are a few favorites and the seeds they have cultivated in my mind.  These quotes are timeless because of the ideas they planted in me many years after they were first written.  We can all dream of being able to write thoughts as inspirational.  The idea of making another person dream, be happy, or find motivation just by reading your words is incredible.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. “

This is a favorite quote for me because even though I have found new thoughts and ideas in life, it seems like they have been around since the dawn of man.  If we can learn not to dwell on the past or worry about the future, then it is possible to enjoy the moment.  What is it that lies within each of us? Love? Understanding? Frustration?  I believe it is the unlimited potential to be whatever it is we want to be.  Too much of our effort is wasted fretting over past mistakes and missteps we can do nothing about.  Or, just as bad, worrying about the worst-case scenarios we dream up in our minds about tomorrow.  Both of these are of little consequence to what is happening right now, today in your life.  Learn to appreciate and enjoy the only moment you have right now. What is in you can create greatness at this moment, and the quality of your thoughts, words, and actions will determine this.  How you treat others, with kindness or angst.  What lies within you?

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. “

I have long thought that we all can do whatever we wish to do in our lives.  It could be that you will be very smart, or very rich, or both, but the ultimate decision in that equation lies with you and what you decide.

It doesn’t matter what your parents think, your family thinks, your teachers in school think, or anyone else because the only thought that counts is the one you have in your head.

In the end, there is nobody that you have to rely on to be whatever it is that you want to be except for yourself, which is a freeing and scary proposition all in one.

“Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

How often in life is the path of least resistance the one that everyone else follows.  Sometimes it is the path of your life and the expectations that are acceptable by the rest of society.  Often it is in the sphere of religion where you are expected to follow along, easily like a sheep.  Sometimes it is the socially accepted cultural biases you are supposed to swallow like a mindless avatar.  Yet, the true greatness in a person can only be viewed fully when they step out of the path they are expected to follow and make their way.

Not one new, innovative thought or activity would have ever been created or started unless there were individuals who made their own path and stuck to it regardless of the objections or negative thoughts.

“What you do speaks so loud I cannot hear what you say.”

So many people are so engaged in what they are doing that they never notice how loud their actions are, drowning out anything they say.

I have known many people who want to give great advice, superior display leadership, or express great thoughts.  Yet, their actions in other areas of their lives or how they treat situations or people make it impossible to hear what they have to say.

If you speak one way, make sure your actions support that philosophy in all phases of your life.  Otherwise, one’s hypocrisy is all that will be evident.

Often I have had the virtues of Christianity told to me by a practitioner of that faith who in their lives are showing no integrity or only that which is convenient and is sure to attract the attention and admiration of others.  These are hollow acts to me that distract from the message they are trying to get across.

This is true in everything that you do.  Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thoughtful quote reminds us to be true in our words and our actions so that they are working in concert.

So on this wonderfully sunny day, I am particularly grateful for the inspiring words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and I am thankful to share them with you!!

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”-  Ralph Waldo Emerson.