Life with Mark Twain, Nadine Stair, and Me

While I was searching for the quote in my last post this morning, I found a number of others of interest.

I thought of my attempt to write my profile for this blog when I read this Mark Twain quotation: Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written.

What about this advice? Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. I wish I could have done as he advised when I woke up at 4:00 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep--- unfortunately my troubles didn't seem to have ears or heels I could get a firm grip on --

This one reminds me of one of our current buzzwords in leadership cirlces - "intentional". We do have to become more intentional in our living, don't we? Mark Twain said: I am different from Washington. I have a higher, grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won't.

Certainly whole blog entries could be written on this one: Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. Think about this one awhile.

And tie that one in with the humor and wisdom shown in this one.
The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one's clothes.

Those last two Mark Twain observations are intertwined with this great one from Nadine Stair with which I agree and will end this post.

If I had my life to live over, I'd like to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans.

I would perhaps have more actual trouble, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds, I would pick more daisies.