CLOSE TO TEN YEARS AGO

Turning 40 was a milestone, meant to be the point when, according to many, one really begins to live.

On the day my life began, I gathered an assortment of aphorisms culled from books of quotes, magazine articles and inspirational messages. I printed them on a souvenir booklet bound by two red ribbons to fasten the pages. And I gave them away to those who celebrated that momentous occasion with me – 40 of my closest and dearest friends.

I have totally forgotten about them until last week. A text message from a friend who asked me to print those maxims again prompted me to dig through the archived leftovers of the past. I found myself surprisingly relishing every word typed down and impressed on the now-reddish brown pages.

I paused. I reflected. I reviewed them again.
Believe me, the truths of life distilled in the passages below can only come from people who have lived past the 40 mark. Past the line that separates the distinction between living and being alive.

I should know. I am nearing 10.




1.
The value of life lies not in the length of days but in the use we make of them;
a man may live long yet live very little.

2.
The greatest loss in life is what dies inside us while we are still alive.

3.
Wisdom doesn’t automatically come with age.
Nothing does, except wrinkles, perhaps.
It is true.
Some wines improve with age.
But the grapes must be good in the first place.

4.
Life is all about memories.
Except for that one present moment
that passes you by so quickly
you hardly catch it going.

5.
Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments.

6.
If I can choose to live life all over again,
I will make the same mistakes, only sooner than later.

7.
Forrest Gump, The Movie:
Life is a box of chocolates.
You never know what you’re going to get.

8.
Rejoice. Life is meant to be enjoyed.

9.
Throw all the colors you can –
life is a great big canvass and
you are the artist who can choose how to paint your life.

10.
The quality of your life depends on every single moment.
In each, you are either fully alive or relatively dead.

11.
My own experiences convince me that life is
10% what happens to me and
90% how I react to it.

12.
Life is not what it is supposed to be.
It is the way it is.
The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.

13.
Life is not what happens to you
but what you make of what happens to you.
Everyone dies, but not everyone fully lives.

14.
Life itself is like a wonderful play.
And everyone’s purpose is to have the most fun playing his part.

15.
If you are too busy to enjoy life,
then you are really too busy.

16.
Be glad of life because
it gives you the chance
to love, to work, to play and
to look up at the stars.

17.
If you refuse to accept anything but the best in life, you very often get it. Explore. Dream. Discover.

18.
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

19.
You know one of this generation’s greatest discoveries?
That human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.

20.
The grand essentials in this life are
something to do
something to love and
something to hope for.


21.
Life is a paradise for those who love many things with a passion.

22.
Although life can be best understood looking backwards,
it must be lived forwards.

23.
The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.

24.
Life is the greatest of all bargains; you get it for nothing.

25.
The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

26.
We make a living by what we get,
we make a life by what we give.

27.
In three words, I can sum up everything I have learned about life:
It goes on.

28.
Enjoy the little things in life.
One day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

29.
There are two things to aim at in life:
First, to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it.
Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.

30.
I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width and breadth of it as well.

31.
Do not be afraid to go out on a limb.
That is where the fruit usually is.

32.
Life is a mirror:
what looks in looks out.
It gives back only what you lend it.

33.
Most of man’s regrets in life are those opportunities
he did not take advantage of when he had the chance.

34.
First, a person is dying to finish high school and start college.
Then, he is dying to finish college and start working.
Then, he is dying to get married and have children.
Then, he is dying to have the children grow old enough
so he could go back to work.
Then, he is dying to retire.
And now, he is dying…
and suddenly, he realizes he forgot to live.

35.
Other people attempt to live their lives backwards.
They try to have more things or more money,
in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier.
The way it actually works is the reverse.
You must first be who you really are,
then do what you need to do,
in order to have what you want.

36.
All the wonderful things in life are so simple
that one is not aware of their wonder until they are beyond touch.

37.
We win half the battle when we make up our minds
to accept life as we find it, the thorns included.

38.
We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny.
But what we put into it, is ours.

39.
Think of all the beauty of life still left around you and be happy.

40.
We do not get to choose how we are going to die.
Or when.
We can only decide how we are going to live.
Now.