Take It In

It doesn’t matter where you are, it doesn't matter where you go. If it's a million miles away or just a mile up the road. Take it in, take it with you when you go.

Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles in "Who Says You Can't Go Home"

I think traveling is a wonderful experience that helps a person grow, but unfortunately very few of us have the resources to do all the traveling we would like. Instead of thinking of this as a disadvantage we should have a different perspective. Even if you only explore your hometown or a neighboring town, take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the people around you. No matter where you go, lessons are always waiting for you.

Headed in the Right Direction

It doesn’t matter what people tell you. Sometimes, running away means you’re headed in the exact right direction.

Alice Hoffman in “Practical Magic”

We often make wrong choices in life and we often stay on the wrong path because we don't want to quit or we don't want to feel like we failed. However, I think that when we really fail is when we stay on the wrong path for the wrong reasons, even if we feel they are the right reasons to do so. Sometimes the best thing to do is to run away.

Width of an Eyelash

Sometimes it seems to me that the difference between what we want and what we fear is the width of an eyelash.

Evelyn Greenslade from "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Dreams are wonderful to have and can give us the inspiration to tackle any obstacle but they can also be daunting. The bigger we dream the bigger the risk, but those who conquer the fear of consequences can experience a wonderful reward.

Ghosts of Choices

Lately I wondered if in every moment there are many paths, choices hanging in the air like ghosts and if you could just see them you could change your whole life.

Dolores Abernathy from  Westworld "Contrapasso"

Infinite choices hang in some individuals' minds, haunting them with each potential outcome. It is very hard to make a decision when the ghosts of so many choices hang in the air. It's hard to tell whether this is a gift or a curse for a mind to work like this.

Standing on One Leg

He who thinks too long before taking the next step will spend his life standing on one leg.

Kerstin Gier in “Dream a Little Dream”

Thinking before you speak is a good habit to have, but there is a fine line between taking time to think and indecision. If you spend your whole life deciding whether or not you should do something then you basically make a decision in the end; a decision to not act.

It's What You Do

If I know one thing, that's true, it ain't what you say, it's what you do.

The Fray in "Love Don't Die"

Words always speak louder than words. It is always a bad feeling to have  someone tell you one thing but then act in a completely different way. That is why it is so important to treat people in the same way you want to be treated.

Stand Against the Darkness

No one can stand against the darkness alone. Trust in your friends. Together you can save this world. Always remember from light comes darkness and from darkness light.

Alodi from "Warcraft: The Beginning"

With any daunting task, it always helps to have trusted friends, especially if that friendship is strong in the sense that the success of one friend is the success of all. I think that looking at life with the philosophy that the light and darkness cannot compliment each other is very closed minded; for literal examples stars would not be seen without the night and shade offers protection from the burning sun.

See in Two Places

Something I've learned is that when I'm looking behind me, I can't see ahead of me.
Are you saying that dwelling on my past is holding me back?
No, I literally can't see over there when I'm looking back there. Which is why it's good to have you here. Together, we can see in two places at once.

Dirk Gently and Todd Brotzman from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency "Very Erectus"

It is always good to have someone watching your back, because your perspective may not allow you to see what someone else can see quite clearly. Plus listening to someone else's thoughts will make them feel respected and it may endear them to you.

Beauty Marks and Scars

Just because you moved on didn’t mean you shed your personal history like a  suit of clothes. Your past was the same as your skin; with you for life, both the proverbial beauty marks and the scars.

J. R. Ward in "Blood Kiss" audiobook

We may change our personalities and our names but we can never escape our past because it will always be a part of us. Our past may be full of good moments that give us beauty or inspiration, or it can be a reminder, like a scar, of our bad experiences.

Love For What You're Not

It's okay to say you've got a weak spot. You don't always have to be on top. Better to be hated, than loved for what you're not.

Marina and the Diamonds in "I am Not a Robot"

It's hard for some individuals to admit that they are not perfect. It's natural to not want to show your weakness. Sometimes trying to be perfect all the time will make others despise you and because you can never actually be perfect then you will feel like a failure. It is better to be happy with who you are, rather than hating who you have become in order to please others.

So Much Potential

It's not enough to stand still. There's gotta be progress, movement towards something. The great and terrible thing about life, there's just so much potential.

Douglas Ainslie from "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

It can be daunting standing on the edge and looking out at the horizon of possibility that life affords us, but if we turn our backs away from these opportunities then we will always stay still. It may be scary to take the jump off the cliff into an ocean of possibilities but it will make our life so much richer. 

Scars that Make Us

There are some wounds that can never heal. There are scars that make us who we are, but without them we don't exist.

Lily from Penny Dreadful "Perpetual Night"

In life, our bad experiences influence us more than our good ones because we learn from the mistakes we make and we also become stronger by surviving. I believe that our experiences are the core of our personality, so if we don't have our scars than we are not exactly the same person as we are with them.

Need to Be Believed

Sometimes people need to be believed in more than they need to be told what is so.

Adriana Mather in “How to Hang a Witch”

I think we as human beings have this irrational but very intense need to have someone just listen to us and to take our side, regardless of whether we are right or wrong. It seems that to be that to be believed in is just as important as being loved.

Have No Fear

Have no fear for giving in, have no fear for giving over. You'd better know that in the end its better to say too much then never to say what you need to say.

John Mayer in "Say"

Life can change so fast that it is important to give your all, even if that means that you sometimes have to give in. Although I think it is smart to at least think before you speak, I do agree that it is better to say too much then get to the end of your life regretting not saying what you should have.

Real Life is Messy

Turns out real life's a little bit more complicated. Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes which means we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be.

Judy Hopps in "Zootopia"

It seems like no matter what separates us as individuals, we all start life without a handbook telling us what the right choices are. I think this could be a way to unite together; the more we share experiences with others that are different from us the better we can improve our lives. If we open our minds and hearts we can learn so much from each other.

Room to Grow

Knowledge isn't old or gnarled or knotted. It's young, always growing. That's the thing about knowledge; no matter how much you think you have, there is always room to grow.

Flynn Carsen from The Librarians "And the Broken Staff"

I think the wisest individual is the one that acknowledge that he or she does not know everything there is to know. The person who can open their mind to new knowledge and experiences is the one who will continue to grow as a person.

Walk Right Beside Me

Don't walk in front of me, I was not born to follow. Don’t walk behind me, we were all born to lead. Don't walk without me, I might need you tomorrow. Walk right beside me, be the real friend I need.

Celtic Woman in "Walk Beside Me"

This sums up how teamwork should be, at least in my opinion. I think the relationship between leaders and followers is unstable if either side is too extreme in their execution of their roles. You need to have a team that can take the advice of their peers but who also feel as if they are equals who are contributing to the work.

The Gardens of Memory

In the gardens of memory, in the palace of dreams, that is where you and I will meet.
But a dream is not reality.
Who's to say which is which?

Mad Hatter and Alice Kingsleigh from "Alice Through the Looking Glass"

Sometimes the only time we can communicate with our loved ones is by delving into our memories of them. If that's the only way we can hold on to those closest to us, then this should not be discounted just because it may not be the reality in front of us. If it helps to heal or calm a hurting heart, then it should not matter whether it is a dream.

Kept Alive By Magic

You think that it's not magic that keeps you alive? Just because you understand the mechanics of how something works doesn't make it any less of a miracle. Which is just another word for magic. We're all kept alive by magic.

Bill Compton from True Blood "Mine"

Although science has given us wonderful technology and advances for human kind, I believe it has also distracted us from the wonders of the universe. We really need to appreciate and protect the everyday miracles of our world; if not we may be the reason we lose them.

Perpetuating the Pain

We often take vengeance long after the fact upon blameless surrogates, reprising the same sins of the ones who trespassed against us, and so perpetuate the pain we suffered at their hands.

Rick Yancey in “The Monstrumologist”

Unfortunately, this is a viscous cycle of pain that is hard to erase. We often cannot disconnect from the pain we suffered so we unintentionally pass it on to others. It is lucky, though, to have family and friends who love us enough to stay with us even when we treat them unfairly.

Birds Don't Just Fly

Birds don’t just fly, they fall down and get up. Nobody learns without getting it wrong. Don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast. Sometimes we come last, but we did our best.

Shakira in "Try Everything"

It is hard to always remember this, but it is wise to keep in mind that mistakes are unavoidable. The best we can do is to try our best and when we fail, we learn from those mistakes and move on. The beauty in life does not always come from the bird flying free but from the fallen bird trying to fly again.

Celebrate the Changes

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing. All we know about the future is that it will be different, but perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same. So we must celebrate the changes.

Evelyn Greenslade from “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”

Unless really lucky, most people have to work really hard in order to achieve success. If an individual is too afraid to accept changes then he or she will always be stuck in the position they are now. If you don't take chances then you will never be handed chances to better yourself.

Ghosts of the Past

Ghosts of the past have power over us. Even if we truly want to move on, it's not that easy.

Abbie Mills from Sleepy Hollow "Dead Men Tell No Tales"

We want the ghosts of our pasts to disappear, especially when we have a brand new start ahead of us. However, the past may linger more than we like. The question is do we address our mistakes and move on in a healthy manner or do we run away and therefore never truly move ahead.

Never a Perfect Answer

There is never a perfect answer in this messy, emotional world. Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.

J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

To live life waiting for pain and suffering to happen is no way to live, but it is smart to appreciate every happy moment you have so you have something to hold on to during painful moments. Also accepting that perfection is unattainable can help you learn from your mistakes.

I am Unwritten

I am unwritten. I am undefined. I'm just beginning. The pen's in my hand, ending unplanned. I break tradition. Sometimes my tries are outside the lines.  We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way.

Natasha Bedingfield in "Unwritten"

Mistakes are a natural part of life; sure some may be devastating but the person who makes them may come out stronger. When you've faced your worst fear, there is nothing left to do but rebuild the future as best you can.

Not Necessarily a Virtue?

When are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.

Frances Owens from "Practical Magic"

I think that those who purposely follow a different path than the herd have a courage that is rare. These individuals may also have more sympathy for their fellow man because they know what it is like to be judged by a large number of people.

Break the Pattern Take Control

You’ve been making choices out of desperation for too long. You’re backing yourself into a corner. Break the pattern; take control of your life. The instant you take control interesting things will happen.

Dirk Gently from Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency “Horizons”

It seems like the universe is cruel when the only apparent choices are the ones that are the worst for you. Sometimes all it takes to break this pattern is to step out of your desperation in order to gain a better perspective.

The Scariest and Most Wonderful

People often ask me what is the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. I tell them instead the scariest thing I know. That there is a purpose to life and meaning. And that everything we do counts in the end. This is the scariest thing I know but also the most wonderful.

Dean Koontz in The Scariest Thing I Know from “Wilderness and Other Stories” audiobook

It can be very taunting to think that every action we take has consequences in the end run, but it can also be very beautiful to think that we influence everything around us. We have to remember this when we make choices in life, whether small or large.

As Tall as Your Heart Will Let You Be

You're only as tall as your heart will let you be. And you're only as small as the world will make you seem. And when the going gets rough and you feel like you may fall just look on the bright side.

Never Shout Never in "On the Brightside"

I know that it is so easy to forget that no matter what the world may say about us, it is what is inside our hearts and our minds that reflects who we really are. I think the strongest person is the one that can be flexible enough to listen to the world, but who does not let what others say affect the way they perceive themselves.

No Present Like the Time

You have no idea now what you will become. Don’t try and control it. Let go. That's when the fun starts. Because as I once heard someone say there's no present like the time.

Muriel Donnelly from "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Resolutions at the beginning of the year are very popular but sometimes I think we crush our chances of succeeding by putting so much pressure on ourselves. If we let things happen naturally, rather than trying to control every little detail, I think we will start seeing our time and dreams as gifts rather than as deadlines.  

Begins Again

Everything ends and it's always sad. But everything begins again too and that's always happy. Be happy.

The Doctor from Doctor Who "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"

To make the most out of the new year, we must remember and learn from our mistakes from 2016, but we should also celebrate our successes and look forward to a bright future. We are the ones who influence our fates and if we want a happy 2017, then we are the ones who should make it so.

Happy New Year!