Some Say it Better Sayings

Here are some of the sayings I turn to again and again. Care to share some of yours? In the sequence below they move from the priceless power of communication to the ineffable effect of connecting – or not.

“Language is magic:  it makes things appear and disappear.“ 

~ Nicole Brossard

 

 “The limits of my language are the limits of my world”  

~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

 

“Those who tell the stories, rule the world.” 

~ Hopi American Indian saying

 

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred.” 

~ Bernard Shaw

 

 "Our voice is in our first draft but too often we edit it out."

~ Sam Horn

 

 “The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.”

~ Edwin Schlossberg

 

"A quotation in a speech, article, or book is like a rifle in the hands of an infantryman. It speaks with authority." 

~ Brendan Behan

 

The world would be a better place if writers would read more and readers would write more. 

~ Ed Sizemore

 

“Never place a period where God has placed a comma.“ 

~ Gracie Allen

 

“There is always a way to be honest without being brutal.” 

~ Arthur Dobrin

 

"To someone who stutters, it's easier done than said." 

~ from The Stuttering Foundation to which I belong

 

 "A leader isn't a seeker of consensus, but a molder of consensus." 

~ Martin Luther King

 

 “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers.  You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”

~ Naguib Mahfouz

 

"Listening may be the most powerful statement a person can make.”

~ Dr. Mardy Grothe

 

“Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery.” 

~ Mark Amidon

 

 "The time for action is past. Now is the time for senseless bickering." 

~ Ashleigh Brilliant

 

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

 

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds." 

~ Adam Bede

 

"There is no meaningful 'yes' unless the individual could also have said 'no'."

~ Rollo May

 

“In the same way you can never go backward to a slower computer, you can never go backward to a lessened state of connectedness.” 

~ Douglas Coupland

 

"Because I helped to wind the clock, I come to hear it strike." 

~William Butler Yeats