I am the quote queen. Even way before Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Pinterest etc. I have literally been obsessed with "collecting" quotes. It started in high school. I quoted lines from books, picked up quote books in the library and perused the pages until finding ones I liked (#nerdgasm- I know) I think it's my love for words that draws me to insightful sayings and philosophical quips. I have a little notebook that I write the ones that I love down in. (Had it since I was 16) I share my favorite quotes with friends and have even managed to throw some in during conversations at dinner parties from time to time.
I can quote you most anything from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison. From Marilyn Monroe to Benjamin Franklin. The way I see it is: whatever you want to say, someone else has already said it better.
So, when asked to share my most favorite quote I have to say it's a challenging task. What one single quote guides me, fuels my core, keeps me going? Hmm..that's hard. I use different quotes at different times to motivate and push me. Depends on the day, the week, the year, hell even the weather.
However, there is one that always finds me. In the darkest of times, in the best of times, in the "I'm completely numb" times. I've shared it before and it's in my book:
As many of you know, I always have a plan, a destination- somewhere to go, someone to be. But I have learned that the road, the "plan" AND even the destination can change at any given moment. How we handle that change defines us.
This quote has helped me through the days when I struggled to feel confident in my own skin. It reminds me to enjoy the journey no matter how painful or confusing it may seem. Every time I felt forced by my ailing body to quit another job, this quote reminded me that there was something more than my "plan" at play. And when I look at my life and realize that yes, I am a writer (a dream I never dared dream as a kid), I know that I AM exactly where I was intended to be.
I like Adams' quote because it has taught me to accept the journey for what it is. It reminds me that there is a reason for everything. That the universe's plan for my life is greater and more fantastic than my own. Somehow, the planets will align, the stars will shine just so, and I will end up where I need to be. Even if it's not where I want to be at first.
The quote has also taught me to remain humble. I cannot control everything. There will be detours on the ride of life, but if I just take a moment and reflect on where those detours have led me, I will realize that I am exactly where I need to be on any given day, at any given time, in any given moment.
If I repeat this quote like a mantra, over and over, during trying times, it grounds me. Allows me to perceive the situation in a more positive light and move forward no matter how lost or broken I feel. And remember:
"Everything is alright in the end, if it's not alright, then it's not the end."