This a compilation of the NPR statements by all kinds of people. I have never actually heard the NPR show - which I know makes me a heathen in some people's minds. A few entries ago, I wrote my own belief list that I have been carrying around with me for a few years.
The statements of belief in the book are really powerful. As I have said before, sometimes we find reminders of what we are hoping for, right when we need them. On the two month anniversary of the start of this blog and journey, as my heart and passion have been shaken and tested...this book and the statements in it, came at exactly the right time.
"I believe in being a good friend, lover and parent so that I can have good friends, lovers and children. I believe in being a woman - the best that I can be, like my mama said." -Phyllis Allen
"Give, give, give - what is the point of having experience, knowledge, or talent if I don't give it away? Of having stories if I don't tell them to others? Of having wealth if I don't share it? I don't intend to be cremated with any of it! It is in giving that I connect with others, with the world, and with the divine." - Isabel Allende
"I believe it is important to recognize and appreciate joy when you feel it. Every once in a while, and not just on special occasions, I've suddenly realized that I am truly happy right now. This is a precious experience, one to savor." - Elizabeth Deutsch Earle
"I believe that families are not only blood relatives but sometimes just people that show up and love you when no one else will." - Cecile Gilmer
"I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same." - Martha Graham
"Presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. States of being are not highly valued in a culture that places a high priority on doing. Yet, true presence or "being with" another person carries with it a silent power - to bear witness to a passage, to help carry an emotional burden, or to begin a healing process. in it, there is an intimate connection with another that is perhaps too seldom felt in a society that strives for ever-faster 'connectivity'." - Debbie Hall
"I believe in the ingredients of love, the elements from which it is made. I believe in love's humble, practical components and their combined power." - Jackie Lantry
"I believe in the absolute and unlimited liberty of reading. I believe in wandering through the stacks and picking out the first thing that strikes me. I believe in choosing books based on the dust jacket. I believe in reading books because others dislike them or find them dangerous. I believe in choosing the hardest book imaginable. I believe in reading up on what others say about this difficult book, and then making up my own mind." - Rick Moody
"Action is what separates a belief from an opinion. Beliefs are imprinted through actions." - Eboo Patel
"I believe we are more than the inhabitants of our cubicles, more than engineers or even parents, husbands and wives. I believe we are transformed and connected by the power and beauty of our creativity." - Mel Rushnov
"I believe that like sunshine and great sex, no day is bad that has barbecue in it." - Jason Sheehan
"I believe in the pursuit of happiness. Not its attainment, nor its final destination, but its pursuit. I believe in the journey, not the arrival; in conversation, not monologues; in multiple questions rather than any single answer. I believe in the struggle to remake ourselves and challenge each other in the spirit of eternal forgiveness, in the awareness that none of us knows for sure what happiness truly is, but each of us knows the imperative to keep searching. I believe in the possibility of surprising joy, of serenity through pain, of homecoming through exile." - Andrew Sullivan
"I believe in both my right and my responsibility to work to create a world that doesn't glorify violence and war, but where we seek different solutions to our common problems. I believe that these days, daring to voice your opinion, daring to find out information from a variety of sources, can be an act of courage. ... I believe that words are easy. I believe that truth is told in the actions we take. And I believe that if enough ordinary people back up our desire for a better world with action, we can, in fact, accomplish absolutely extraordinary things." - Jody Williams
Someone from Dartmouth gave me this book when I still worked there and it seriously changed my life. I read it from cover to cover one weekend...I couldn't out it down. Love it!
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