Quote Drive: What’s Your Favorite Quote by a Woman?
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Deborah Siegel harnesses the wisdom of the She Writes quote borg. Got quote? Post it here!
You’ve heard of a coat drive, right? Well today here on She Writes, Kamy and I would like to introduce The Quote Drive (Kamy's ingenious phrase). Just as coats provide warmth in wind and gale, words from women—and in particular, women writers—can both comfort and heat up our soul. But I’m quitting with the analogy, before it devolves into cliché; you get the drift.
Here’s how it works; it's pretty simple. Post your favorite quote by a woman (or about women) in comments to this post.
Let’s cast our net wide:
-It can be by someone living or dead.
-It can be by a writer, a famous person, or someone well known(ish) with something kicky or poignant or true to say about the fairer (ha) sex.
-It can be by a fellow She Writer.
-It can be by you.
Be sure to attribute!
We’ll collect them over time, and we'll come up with a cool way, eventually, to share them. Stay tuned on that.
Here we go. I’m starting us off with a few from the women I spoke with on a panel about work/life balance across generations earlier this week in Kansas City, the “Women, Girls, and Ladies,” as we call ourselves. Because they inspire me to no end.
"Nobody loves you better because you have used yourself up for them." –Gloria Feldt, author of No Excuses: 9 Women Can Change How We Think About Power (pubbing Oct 5!)
"For a writer who's used to being in her own head, being around other people all the time can feel like a loss of self." -- Kristal Brent Zook, author of Black Women’s Lives
“I want to get good at failure, and redefine success.” --Courtney Martin, author of Do It Anyway: The Next Generation of Activists (just out!)
Plus, a bonus track from a new friend, who also happens to be Assignments and Syndication Editor at BlogHer and came to our panel in Kansas City this week (and wrote about it!)
“It's an extreme act of love to give the object of your affection time and space to feed her soul.” – Rita Arens, author of Sleep is for the Weak and blogger at Surrender Dorothy
Ok, your turn. What words by--or about--women inspire the heck out of you, or merely say something heartwrenchingly or gutwrenchingly true? And hey, after you post, tweet it too! (hashtag #shewritesdotcom)Share
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My favorite quotes straight from my facebook page (each of these are referred to often for strength and guidance):
"What necessity is there to dwell on the Past, when the Present is so much surer--the Future so much brighter?"
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
"Have faith and pursue the unknown end."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
"If you care about something, you have to protect it--if you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to LIVE it."
- John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
"The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
- John Milton
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” - Ernest Hemingway
Muse use me. Conduit your words.
I am as weak as I am strong.
special note, the sentence [treated as having worth] should have read [treated as having NO worth].
sorry about the typo.
marantha jenelle
I DO NOT READ MUCH ANYMORE, AND WHAT LITTLE I USED TO READ WAS SCI-FI, HORROR AND FANTASY, BUT THIS IS HOW I SEE AND HONOR WOMEN:
(MARANTHA JENELLE)
Women are the ones who nourish their young and their families, comfort their children and mates in times of sorrow, console their children and mates in times of sadness and grief, doctor their children and mates when they are ill, mend broken hearts with their wise council and loving arms...holes in jeans earned by their children's running and playing and exploring or in those of their mate's working to earn a living...and occasionally an odd item here and there around the house, teach the basics of the three "R's"...manners, discipline...honor...morality...the difference between right and wrong...and so much more, defend their children and mates...sometimes with their very lives...often sacrificing things they themselves need for the good of their family, protect their family...their honor...and their homes, and love their family totally and completely.
Women are both as gentle as a lamb with those they love and cherish and as fierce as a lioness with those that threaten the one they love.
Women are not to be beaten, raped, abused, misused, ignored, dishonored, devalued, sold, or treated as having worth, for they have the highest worth in the world, for they are all of the things that I mentioned above...
And only women can bring new life into the world.
So if you are a woman who is reading this, stand up proud, for you are the mother's of mankind.
marantha jenelle
Love the quotes! Here's a few that have helped me through darker times:
“Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”
Helen Keller
"I show up. I listen. I try to laugh."
Anna Quindlen
"I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near."
Margaret Thatcher
“There are things to confess that enrich the world, and things that need not be said.”
~ Joni Mitchell
"A "No" uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a "Yes" merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
~ Gandhi
"The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes."
~ Tony Blair
"A pint can’t hold a quart – if it holds a pint it is doing all that can be expected of it."
~ Margaret Deland
To loose ones-self is to weep. To love and hold yourself dear is to find ones-self and keep her. And to be woman is all the more beautiful. ~pw
This quote garden is so fab -- it brings tears to my eyes. Keep on keepin it on, SWers! It just grows and grows...
My personal mantra -
"Spirituality is not about why we die, but why we live."
"We can not all do great things but we can do small things with great love." Mother Theresa
"There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you." Zora Neale Hurston
What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open. (Muriel Rukeyser)
Everyone has put in some really fantastic quotes; some that are in my collection of favorites; I thought I'd add two that I just love; one more serious than the other:)
"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud." ~ Coco Chanel
"Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me." ~ Audrey Hepburn
You must do the things you think you cannot do. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' Eleanor Roosevelt
"To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one." Colette
"God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages."
Jacques Deval
"Control your emotions, don't let them control you." - SinglesMagazine.Net
"Disappointment to a noble sould is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies but never destroys it." ~~Eliza Tabor~~
"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, only speak words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." (Audrey Hepburn)
Lisa, the poem you quoted from, "A Litany for Survival" is one of my favorite poems!
It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Intense love does not measure, it just gives.
and
Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.
~Mother Theresa~
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?"
~Marianne Williamson