And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us,
new, untouched, full of things that have never been,
full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands;
and let us see that we learn to take it
without letting fall too much of what it has to bestow
upon those who demand of it necessary, serious, and great things.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters
In the depths of winter,
I finally learned that within me
there lay an invincible summer.
Albert Camus, Return to Tipasa
The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world;
I am like a snowball — the further I am rolled the more I gain.
Susan B. Anthony, The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony
The grace of God means something like:
Here is your life.
You might never have been,
but you are
because the party wouldn't have
been complete without you.
Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC
I forget the derivation of Boxing Day,
but the feeling of wanting to invite
your loved ones outside one at a time
and punch them in the face,
does that come into it somewhere?
Allison Pearson,
I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother
How many observe Christ's birthday!
How few, his precepts!
O! 'tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack