Look After Your Mind – Quotes Of Many Colours
I think of a good quote as a little nugget of practical wisdom that carries an emotional punch. The word itself comes from Latin for ‘how many’ (thus linked to quota and quotient). The original sense of it was to mark a book with numbers or marginal references, which evolved into the idea of giving a reference by page or number and from there to the current meaning of citing a text or person.
For me, the best and most powerful quotes linger in the mind: they often express a viewpoint that can serve to guide, warn, amuse or provoke deeper reflection. Over the years I’ve collected hundreds of quotes and have posted up my favourites on the notice board in front of my desk. Obviously, choosing quotes is a very personal thing. Here are some that mean a lot to me – they may make no impact on you, but the point of this article is to encourage you to search out meaningful quotes if you don’t already do so.
‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be lighted.’ Plutarch. This saying had a long-lasting influence on my teaching career, along with ‘Children enter school as question marks and leave as full stops’, by the educationalists Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner.
‘We think in generalities, but we live in detail’. Alfred North Whitehead. Generalising is a dangerous mental habit; a blunt instrument that means we can make unfortunate judgements, as well as missing out on the astonishing richness of everyday life.
I like reality. It tastes of bread’. Jean Anouilh, French dramatist. For me, this quote circumvents the tangled (and as yet unresolved) issue of what reality is and says, in effect, that the most immediate reality is one’s day by day experiences. Anouilh’s words ground us in the simple and the ordinary.
‘Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, find opportunity’. Albert Einstein. Perhaps because he wrestled with some of the deepest problems in cosmology, Einstein became famous for the wisdom of many of his words. What he says here chimes with another of his quotes; ‘Keep things as simple as possible, but no simpler’.
The comedian Bob Monkhouse once said that growing old was compulsory, but growing up was optional. This reminds us that even as adults we can look at the world through the fresh eyes of a child and be constantly delighted.
‘Think highly of yourself, for the world takes you at your estimate’. Anon. This goes to the heart of the idea of self-esteem, which in truth is predicated on how we estimate ourselves without passively relying on other people’s opinions.
Steve Bowkett
Are You An Influencer?
