October 11 Quotations

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. ~ Benjamin Franklin

selected by Jimregan

2004

I don't really know why I care so much. I just have something inside me that tells me that there is a problem, and I have got to do something about it. I think that is what I would call the God in me. All of us have a God in us, and that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet. ~ Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Prize of 2004)

selected by Kalki

2005

You always fall when you're training, that's sort of part of the process. If you're not falling, you're not training hard enough. ~ Michelle Trachtenberg (born 11 October 1985)

proposed by MosheZadka

2006

It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (born 11 October 1884)

proposed by Kalki

2007

At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want — for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (born 11 October 1884)

proposed by Kalki

2008

Your true home is in the here and the now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality, or race. Your true home is not an abstract idea. It is something you can touch and live in every moment. With mindfulness and concentration, the energies of the Buddha, you can find your true home in the full relaxation of your mind and body in the present moment. No one can take it away from you. Other people can occupy your country, they can even put you in prison, but they cannot take away your true home and your freedom. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh (born 11 October 1926)

proposed by Zarbon

2009

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

proposed by Kalki

2010 : Rank or add further suggestions…
----
Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
- used 19 November 2003, selected by Kalki

A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
- used 1 July 2004, selected by Kalki

----

Ranking system:

4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.

3 : Very Good - strong desire to see it used.

2 : Good - some desire to see it used.

1 : Acceptable - but with no particular desire to see it used.

0 : Not acceptable - not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.

----
----

Suggestions

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (date of birth)

2 (the safe choice) ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 23:27, 5 October 2005 (UTC)
2 ~ Kalki 21:36, 8 October 2005 (UTC) a bit overused by many people... and often arguably untrue, or irrelevant.
2 Zarbon 04:22, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

----

Eleven Rules of Life:

RULE 1
Life is not fair - get used to it.

RULE 2
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world
will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel
good about yourself.

RULE 3
You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out
of high school. You won't be a vice president with
car phone, until you earn both.

RULE 4
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a
boss. He doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your
grandparents had a different word for burger flipping
they called it Opportunity.

RULE 6
If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't
whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as
they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about
how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest
from the parasites of your parent's generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.

RULE 8
Your school may have done away with winners and losers,
but life has not. In some schools they have abolished
failing grades and they'll give you as many times as
you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the
slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get
summers off and very few employers are interested in
helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

RULE 10
Television is NOT real life. In real life people
actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for
one.

- Charles Sykes's eleven rules of life, taken from his book "Dumbing Down Our Kids". These rules were also mentioned by Bill Gates when giving advice to some high school students.
  - Rating: 5
    - R160K 00:11, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

1. There are a number of problems here:

1) The quote is far too long for a Quote of the Day.

2) The person being quoted doesn't even have a page on Wikiquote.

3) This quote, with its hostile and dismissive tone, is unsuitable.

4) There seems to be no reason to associate the quote with this day. I'm guessing it was chosen because it has 11 rules and this is for the 11th.

5) There is no rating of 5. - InvisibleSun 16:43, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

0 for the list as a whole, though I might rank some portions of the list higher on a date such as Sykes' birthday. There are actually 15 rules in the complete list, and Bill Gates is not known to have ever quoted any of them, though all eleven of those above are often attributed to him; see Snopes.com ~ Kalki 20:23, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
0 for the reasons already stated by Kalki and InvisibleSun. Zarbon 04:22, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

----

While accepting the fact that some of our press, our radio commentators, our prominent citizens and our movies may at times be blamed legitimately for things they have said and done, still I feel that the fundamental right of freedom of thought and expression is essential. If you curtail what the other fellow says and does, you curtail what you yourself may say and do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (born 11 October 1884)

3 InvisibleSun 19:16, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
3 Kalki 20:22, 10 October 2006 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
2 Zarbon 04:22, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

----

Will people ever be wise enough to refuse to follow bad leaders or to take away the freedom of other people? ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (born 11 October 1884)

3 Kalki 20:16, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 07:23, 10 October 2007 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
1 Zarbon 04:22, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

----

One of the blessings of age is to learn not to part on a note of sharpness, to treasure the moments spent with those we love, and to make them whenever possible good to remember, for time is short. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (born 11 October 1884)

3 Kalki 20:16, 10 October 2006 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
3 InvisibleSun 07:23, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 04:22, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

----

Whatever you can do, do it today and then old age will be a delicious fruit. ~ Nhat Hanh

2 Zarbon 04:23, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 19:54, 2 October 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:54, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

----

In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us. ~ Nhat Hanh

2 Zarbon 04:23, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 19:54, 2 October 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
3 InvisibleSun 21:54, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

----

If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people. ~ Nhat Hanh

2 Zarbon 04:23, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 19:54, 2 October 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:54, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

----

We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize. ~ Nhat Hanh

2 Zarbon 04:23, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 19:54, 2 October 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
2 InvisibleSun 21:54, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

----

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. ~ Nhat Hanh

2 Zarbon 04:23, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 19:54, 2 October 2008 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
3 InvisibleSun 21:54, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

----

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind. ~ Nhat Hanh

2 Zarbon 04:23, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 19:54, 2 October 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
3 InvisibleSun 21:54, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

----

What makes a poet is, surely, the love of these things, a desperate search for the tiny ray of sunshine which used to flicker on the floor of a child’s bedroom. ~ François Mauriac (born 11 October 1885)

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

----

Where does discipline end? Where does cruelty begin? Somewhere between these, thousands of children inhabit a voiceless hell. ~ François Mauriac (born 11 October 1885)

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

----

Very little would have been needed for the tears of Judas to be allied in the memory of mankind with those of Peter. He might have become a saint, the patron of all of us who constantly betray Christ. ~ François Mauriac (born 11 October 1885)

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

----

We face the future fortified with the lessons we have learned from the past. It is today that we must create the world of the future. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

----

We must know what we think and speak out, even at the risk of unpopularity. In the final analysis, a democratic government represents the sum total of the courage and the integrity of its individuals. It cannot be better than they are. ... In the long run there is no more exhilarating experience than to determine one's position, state it bravely and then act boldly. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

----

I cannot remember a time when the question on so many people's lips was "How can we prevent war?"
There is a widespread understanding among the people of this nation, and probably among the people of the world, that there is no safety except through the prevention of war. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

----

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

----

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 have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." ... You must do the thing you think you cannot do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

----

Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be "damned if you do, and damned if you don't." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.

----

The present moment
contains past and future.
The secret of transformation,
is in the way we handle this very moment.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

----

Your first love has no beginning or end. Your first love is not your first love, and it is not your last. It is just love. It is one with everything. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

----

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is. A pessimistic attitude can never create the calm and serene smile which blossoms on the lips of Bodhisattvas and all those who obtain the way. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

----

This capacity of waking up, of being aware of what is going on in your feelings, in your body, in your perceptions, in the world, is called Buddha nature, the capacity of understanding and loving. Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

----

Reality is reality. It transcends every concept. There is no concept which can adequately describe it, not even the concept of interdependence. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

----

Thich Nhat Hanh offers a way out of this nightmare, a solution acceptable to rational leaders. He has traveled the world, counseling statesmen, religious leaders, scholars and writers, and enlisting their support. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

3 Kalki 16:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

----

Quoternity