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Only love can heal the wounds of the past.

bell hooks

A feminist pioneer and social critic, bell hooks (1952-2021) is known for her writings on the intersections of race and gender, centering the experiences of Black women. Her book “All About Love” recasts love as a choice, as well as a crucial foundation for social change. She advocated for developing a “love ethic,” one that acknowledges the needs of the collective as well as the individual. Her words remind us that even the deepest injuries can mend if we are patient and compassionate toward ourselves and other people.

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.

David Foster Wallace

It’s a fact of life that the truth can hurt, as David Foster Wallace expresses in this line from his epic 1996 novel "Infinite Jest." In this philosophical comic novel, Wallace explores our relationship with entertainment, which can serve as a distraction from the hard realities of life. Finding out the truth — about ourselves, others, or our relationships — can be devastating at first, but it also provides a kind of hopeful freedom. When we face and accept the truth, we're able to see more clearly, and can move forward stronger than before.

Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.

Charles Dickens

In Charles Dickens’ classic 1861 novel “Great Expectations,” the author employs the kind and simple blacksmith, Joe, to deliver this bittersweet bit of wisdom. As he parts ways with Pip, the story’s protagonist, Joe remarks that it is merely the nature of life to have to say goodbye to the people, places, and experiences we have loved. It’s rarely easy, but we can take comfort knowing that at the end of each parting is a brand new beginning.

Everybody who is honest is interesting.

Stefan Sagmeister

Austrian graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister is known for the album covers he has masterminded for artists such as the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed. Sagmeister has said he became a designer after failing as a musician and journalist: That honesty led him to a Fulbright Scholarship at the Pratt Institute in New York City and a 2005 Grammy Award for art direction. His words encourage us to be candid about our motivations and goals, because authenticity can be the best compass to happiness.

Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.

Joan Didion

Writer Joan Didion gave this advice to herself in “Blue Nights,” a 2011 memoir written during one of the darkest periods of her life, following the death of her daughter Quintana Roo only a few years after her husband, John Gregory Dunne, passed away. Like many people struggling with grief, Didion was looking for a way through it, and from that place of darkness, we can glean a bit of light. In life’s most difficult moments, we all search for a path that helps us persist. In the face of great adversity, to simply carry on can be an act of courage.

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an essayist and lecturer, a poet philosopher, and an activist abolitionist. He also led the transcendentalist movement — a philosophical movement that gained traction along the East Coast of the United States in the 1820s. The core of transcendentalism is a belief in the inherent goodness of people and, even more importantly, of nature; further, transcendentalists believed in self-reliance, intuition, and divinity in everyday life. "Nature," which Emerson published in 1836, was a foundational and informational essay espousing the tenets of his philosophical and spiritual movement. This quote — a celebration of the natural order — is a reminder that time heals all wounds, but it takes wisdom and patience to get there.

Life goes by fast. Enjoy it. Calm down. It's all funny.

Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers was the definition of multitalented. A comedian, Emmy winner, Grammy winner, Tony nominee, and television trailblazer, she became the first woman to host a late-night network talk show with 1986’s “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers.” This quote isn’t just a mantra that Rivers preached but one she lived by. Her wit shined brightest while interviewing celebrities on the red carpet – even the biggest A-listers found themselves the subject of her biting humor, as she consistently prioritized being funny over being reverent. Rivers herself was the target of many quips, but rather than let it get her down, she once again embraced humor, with self-deprecating comments such as, “I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.” Rivers was an inspiration not only for comedians, but for all of us — a reminder to maintain a lighthearted attitude in our lives so long as we’re lucky to be here.

Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage: it can be delightful.

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925, is most famous for his 1913 comedic play “Pygmalion,” which was later adapted into the 1956 Broadway musical “My Fair Lady." But Shaw’s path to literary success was a long one. He spent his 20s struggling to pay the bills as his first four novels were summarily rejected by every publisher in London. Nine years after resolving to become a writer, he began to gain some traction with his journalism, publishing art criticism and book reviews, but it was only once he began to write for the stage that his career found real momentum. His playwriting earned him both critical and popular acclaim. In his 94 years of life, Shaw certainly came to understand that life is not always easy, but his art is a testament to the fact that it can be delightful.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.


Judy Garland

Onstage and on-screen, Judy Garland was splendid at channeling characters, especially through song. Yet in private moments — which, for the lifelong star, were few and far between — she prided herself on her authenticity. The Oscar nominee and Grammy winner found that highlighting her favorite parts of her personality — from her sense of humor and strong convictions to her encyclopedic entertainment knowledge — drove others to embrace her even more. Long before her daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft became performers, Garland taught them that people who are true to themselves leave the strongest imprints on the world.

Pay attention to what you pay attention to.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Anyone considering a career change might tire of people telling them, “Do what you love, and the rest will follow.” How can you be so sure? What counts as “love"? This is work we’re talking about! For anyone looking less for a passion project and more for what they’d be really good at, author Amy Krouse Rosenthal tweeted this advice in 2013. It’s deceptively Zen: If you watch your mind at work, you’ll start to notice patterns of thought, which will show you where your strengths are. It’ll also be good practice for when you do finally land that new gig, since good work does — always and necessarily — require focus and attention.