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This is my fourth blog on the subject of destiny in which I hand over to the wise, the learned and the distinguished. Here are links to posts one, two and three.
It seems to me that the Somerset Maugham quote is the most generally applicable to the times we live in, the Marcus Aurelius quote to be pragmatically inspired (if that's not an oxymoron), the Georges Braque to offer infinite possibility, and the aforementioned Friedrich Schiller to reveal a timeless truth which could be said to embrace the quote by Herodotus.
But all are remarkable in some way. Do any strike a particular chord with you?
For us artists there waits the joyous compromise through art with all that wounded or defeated us in daily life; in this way, not to evade destiny, as the ordinary people try to do, but to fulfil it in its true potential - the imagination.
Lawrence Durrell
And when man faces destiny, destiny ends and man comes into his own.
Andre Malraux
Money is the string with which a sardonic destiny directs the motions of its puppets.
W. Somerset Maugham
It is old age, rather than death, that is to be contrasted with life. Old age is life's parody, whereas death transforms life into a destiny: in a way it preserves it by giving it the absolute dimension. Death does away with time.
Simone de Beauvoir
Character is destiny.
Heraclitus
It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.
Winston Churchill
Once an object has been incorporated in a picture it accepts a new destiny.
Georges Braque
Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live.
Marcus Aurelius
I believe the destiny of your generation - and your nation - is a rendezvous with excellence.
Lyndon B. Johnson
If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.
Andre Maurois
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.
Thomas Merton
No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
Agnes de Mille
The destiny of man is in his own soul.
Herodotus
There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.
Friedrich Schiller
We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours.
Dag Hammarskjold
Culture: the cry of men in face of their destiny.
Albert Camus
A consistent soul believes in destiny, a capricious one in chance.
Benjamin Disraeli
I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.
Douglas Adams
Keywords:
...at the still point, there the dance is.”
—Burnt Norton - T. S. Eliot
About Rosy
Rosy Cole was born and educated in the Shires of England and now lives on the West Sussex coast. A professional writer for thirty years, she has worked as a Press Officer and Publisher's Reader and is a member of the Society of Authors (UK), the Historical...
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Causes Rosy Cole Supports
World Vision, International Prison Outreach, Salvation Army, Emmaus Project, Poor Clares, DogsTrust, BUAV (against animal testing) WWT (Wildfowl &...
Rosy’s Favorite Books
Restoration - Rose Tremain, Rites of Passage - William Golding, The Waves - Virginia Woolf, To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf, Sunset Song - Lewis Grassic...
Blessed Be!
Dear Rosy, Blessed be all that you bring us! XO
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.
Thomas Merton
No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
Agnes de Mille
The destiny of man is in his own soul.
Herodotus
There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.
Friedrich Schiller
I am so grateful for you:-)
Truly,
Catherine
So glad you enjoyed these, Cathy
...and thanks for your generous enthusiasm and support!
Interesting that among those quotes you singled out is the Agnes de Mille - a truth we are inclined to overlook - that a hallmark of destiny is that it is made known silently.
One thing is certain, writers need a well-developed sense of destiny, less for themselves, perhaps, than for those they write about.
Blessings,
Rosy
Wonderful Quotes!
Thank you very much for the quotes above, they all gave me insights, some growing deeper after reflection. The one by W. Somerset Maugham was pretty sweet, but forever lost in American society. Destiny is such a fancy word that can be fully understood by some, but those same people could be miles from understanding destiny's definition coming from others. Quotes like what you portrayed provide a great means of bridging that gap, if only everyone was forced to listen to them... ho hum.
The quote that stood out the most for me on this subject, for one reason or another, is the one by Winsont Churchill saying "It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time." I like this one because it hits home on the concept of destiny at its roots... at least from my own understanding. One can easily become clouded with visions of the future and lose sight of what is in front of him. What is all around us represents the building blocks of our destiny. To attempt to manipulate these building blocks into creating our own idea of our own destiny second guesses the entire concept. If we live with a positive passion and speak the truth then our destiny will unfold before our eyes and most likely become something bigger and better than we ever would've imagined. (in my own experiences this happens every time!) If we chase a mentally created life that we think we want then we might as well grow a tail and chase that because in that case we quickly eliminate possibilities and close doors that we never knew existed.
Once again, thank you for the quotes, I thoroughly enjoyed them. Best of luck to you and your wonderful destiny!
Dan
Dan, thank you for stopping by
and for your generous and heartfelt comments.
You have managed to sum up very neatly what the raison d'ȇtre was of this series of 'destiny' blogs.
It is a profound saying of Churchill's and was why it inspired the title of this last post (although it could be taken to mean the links within the post itself as well :) ). It's true, we can easily become clouded with visions of the future. But this is what strikes the strongest chord for me:
"If we live with a positive passion and speak the truth then our destiny will unfold before our eyes and most likely become something bigger and better than we ever would've imagined. (in my own experiences this happens every time!) If we chase a mentally created life that we think we want then we might as well grow a tail and chase that because in that case we quickly eliminate possibilities and close doors that we never knew existed."
Paradoxically, it is not living haphazardly and without responsibility, it is living on the cusp of real Hope which delivers ongoing fulfilment and also helps those around us.
Your insights are very much appreciated and I wish you all the best.
Rosy.