BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Inspiration Inspiration Quote

Love is a tenacious adventure.

Alain Badiou

This line from Alain Badiou’s 2012 book “In Praise of Love” is followed by the author’s insistence that “the adventurous side is necessary, but equally so is the need for tenacity.” Born in France in 1937, Badiou explored the idea of love as a magnificent undertaking that forever changes the two individuals who choose to persist through the challenges they will inevitably encounter. Love, he argued, is the much-needed antidote to the self-interest that consumes so much of the world today; it is our greatest hope for connection and understanding.

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson’s command of language and imagery is displayed not only in her poems, but also in her many letters to friends, family, and fellow writers. “Affection is like bread,” she wrote to her cousins, “unnoticed till we starve, and then we dream of it, and sing of it, and paint it…” The letter continued with this beautifully insightful and characteristically hopeful thought: “We turn not older with years, but newer every day.” Despite being a known recluse, Dickinson lived through her writing, and both her life and her works remain an inspiration to artists across the creative spectrum.

Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.

Gretel Ehrlich

In the 1970s, travel writer and poet Gretel Ehrlich spent several years living in rural Wyoming following the death of the man she loved. Drawn to the rugged landscape and its equally resilient people, she compiled the essay collection “The Solace of Open Spaces” about her time there. “I came here four years ago,” she wrote. “I had not planned to stay, but I couldn’t make myself leave.” In this quote from her essay “On Water,” Ehrlich contemplates the ebbs and flows of nature and the capriciousness of life. Comparing the human experience to a river that weightlessly carries both death and life, she wrote, “We can drown in it or else stay buoyant, quench our thirst, stay alive.”

It is so easy to give, so exquisitely rewarding.

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was a master of the moral philosophizing that defined his work. In this line from his travel journal “The Log From the Sea of Cortez,” he illustrated the simple joy of giving to others — whether it be time, or gifts, to friends, family, or charity. But this quote also considers what it takes to be able to receive. Receiving, Steinbeck argued, is the more vulnerable act, one that “requires humility and tact and great understanding of relationships.” To give, on the other hand, can be done without these burdens; it should be done freely, generously, and genuinely.

Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature.

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí never lacked self-confidence. His flamboyant style and eccentricities were fundamental to his public persona, and he often declared himself the greatest artist of modern times. “Every morning upon awakening,” he famously said, “I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí, and I ask myself, wonderstruck, what prodigious thing will he do today.” His public image often distracted from the fact that he was an artist of incredible talent, and Dalí talked about art and life in a very meaningful manner. While never self-effacing, he admitted that, like anyone, he made mistakes. “Never try to correct them,” he wrote. “On the contrary: Rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them.”

Memories are not bound by time but live on in the heart, creating a lasting emotional connection.

The golden rule of friendship is to listen to others as you would have them listen to you.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.

Epictetus

The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus was born into slavery around 50 CE. He gained his freedom while still a young man, and began teaching in Rome, until the Roman emperor Domitian expelled all philosophers from the city. Undeterred, Epictetus founded a school of philosophy in Greece, where his teachings became widely admired. He lived a frugal life with very few belongings, and his primary concerns were integrity, self-management, and personal freedom. Epictetus believed external possessions — including glory and power — are beyond our control, and we only have power over those things within us, such as our opinions, impulses, and desires. As he said, “The good that ought to be the object of our earnest pursuit, is to be found only within ourselves.”

All mistakes teach us something, so there are, in reality, no mistakes.

Nikki Giovanni

First rising to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the Black Arts Movement, award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni established herself as a leading proponent of racial and gender equality; her early works "Black Feeling, Black Talk" and "Black Judgement" are among the most important volumes of modern African American poetry. This quote appears in the 2016 book "In the Company of Women," a literary collection of empowering wisdom and advice to which Giovanni contributed. In it, the poet explains that she seldom dwells on self-doubt, since "mistakes are a fact of life." Her words are a reminder that when questions arise, so, eventually, do answers. It's integral to face adversity head on, because only then can we learn from it.

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.