Sunday Quote It 6/8

It's June already, somehow - the start of the summer, the end of the school year. And also the season of graduations!
 

I have chosen today's set of quotes for two reasons: because they are a good reminder for me to slow down and enjoy life and because the book(s) that they come from make really great graduation gifts. In fact, after I read these two small books last year, I immediately ordered both of them to give to the daughter of our closest friends; she graduated from college last year. Next week, we'll be attending a high school graduation party, and I think I will again get these books for the graduate.

The books are a couple of slim volumes by Anna Quindlen: A Short Guide to a Happy Life and Being Perfect. They both offer thoughtful, wise advice on living life and make great graduation gifts. You can read my review of the books here, along with one of my favorite quotes. Here are some others, specifically relevant to those of us living with chronic illness:

"Maybe you have come to feel the way I have. And you’ve come to feel that way for a very difficult or demanding reason. One day you were walking around worrying about whether you had anything to wear to a party or reminding yourself to buy Kitty Litter or toilet paper. And then you were in the shower lathering up, or you were lying on a doctor’s table, or the phone rang. And your world suddenly divided, as my world did many years ago. It divided into ‘before’ and ‘after.’”

“I learned to live many years ago. Something really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had a choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, sometimes seems to be the hardest lesson of all.

I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that this is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get.”

“But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.”

            - A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen

I think we can all relate to a life being divided into before and after. I love how Quindlen talks about being in charge of your life - we may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can still control our attitude and how we respond to what happens. I found both little books very inspirational.

Hope you are making the most of today!