Great Throughts Treasury

"Defeat is for those who, despite their fears, live with enthusiasm and faith."

"Defeat is for the valiant. Only they will know the honor of losing and the joy of winning I am not here to tell you that defeat is a part of life: we all know that. Only the defeated know Love. Because it is in the realm of love that we fight our first battles ? and generally lose. I am here to tell you that there are people who have never been defeated. They are the ones who never fought. They managed to avoid scars, humiliations, feelings of helplessness, as well as those moments when even warriors doubt the existence of God."

"Definition of Success: It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace."

"Desperation can fool the desperate."

"D‚j… vu is more than just that fleeting moment of surprise, instantly forgotten because we never bother with things that make no sense. It show that time doesn't pass. It's a leap into something we have already experienced and that is being repeated."

"Desire is not what you see but what you imagine."

"Difficulty is the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are."

"Despite all my efforts, I still can't honestly say that I feel closer to God and to myself."

"Despite her apparent freedom, her life consisted of endless hours spent waiting for a miracle, for true love, for an adventure with the same romantic ending she had seen in films and read about in books. A writer once said that it is not time that changes man, nor knowledge; the only thing that can change someone's mind is love. What nonsense! The person who wrote that clearly knew only one side of the coin. Love was undoubtedly one of the things capable of changing a person's whole life, from one moment to the next. But there was the other side of the coin, the second thing that could make a human being take a totally different course from the one he or she had planned; and that was called despair. Yes, perhaps love really could transform someone, but despair did the job more quickly."

"Do not concern yourself with what you know or what you do not know. Do not think about the past or the future, Merely Allow God's hands to write the surprises of the present on each new day."

"Do not believe the promises, the world is full of them: the richness, eternal salvation, eternal love. Some people think that they are worthy of bestowal promises. And others accept anything that guarantees them better days."

"Diplomacy is also the art of postponing decisions until the problems resolve themselves."

"Disappointment, Defeat, Despair are the tools God uses to show us our way."

"Do not forget: seek to win all your battles, including those you fight against yourself. Do not fear the scars. Do not be afraid of victory."

"Do not let the opinions of others scare. Only certain humility, so ride the risks, and what you want to actually play. Find people who are not afraid of making mistakes and who thus commit. For this reason, do not have their work mostly estimated, but specifically the type of people who change the world, and after a lot of mistakes, doing something completely change society"

"Do not do to another that which you would abhor being done to you; that is the law. All the rest is legal commentary."

"Do not say anything; we love because we love; there is no reason to love."

"Do not try to be helpful. Try to be you: that's enough, and there lies your rationale. Do not go no faster or slower than your soul. For it is she who will teach, with each step, what are useful."

"Do not seek to be loved at any price, because Love has no price."

"Do what your heart commands, and God will be happy."

"Do something instead of killing time. Because time is killing you."

"Do not try to explain feelings. Live everything intensely and treasure what you feel as a gift from God."

"Do you know what I've learned? That although ecstasy is the ability to stand outside yourself, dance is a way of rising up into space, of discovering new dimensions while still remaining in touch with your body. When you dance, the spiritual world and the real world manage to coexist quite happily. I think classical ballet dancers dance on pointe because they're simultaneously touching the earth and reaching up to the skies."

"Do you know anything about frogs? Frogs? Yes, various biological studies have shown that if a frog is placed in a container along with water from its own pond, it will remain there, utterly still, while the water is slowly heated up. The frog doesn't react to the gradual increase in temperature, to the changes in its environment, and when the water reaches the boiling point, the frog dies, fat and happy. On the other hand, if a frog is thrown into a container full of already boiling water it will jump straight out again, scalded, but alive! Olivia doesn't quite see what this has to do with the destruction of the world. Igor goes on: I was like that boiled frog. I didn't notice the changes. I thought everything was fine, that the bad things would just go away, that it was just a matter of time. I was ready to die because I lost the most important thing in my life, but instead of reacting, I sat there bobbing apathetically about in water that was getting hotter by the minute."

"Do you know what loneliness? I know what it is, but you do not know what it is."

"Does a leaf, when it falls from the tree in winter, feel defeated by the cold? The tree says to the leaf: That?s the cycle of life. You may think you?re going to die, but you live on in me. It?s thanks to you that I?m alive, because I can breathe. It?s also thanks to you that I have felt loved, because I was able to give shade to the weary traveler. Your sap is in my sap; we are one thing."

"Does a soldier go to war in order to kill the enemy? No, he goes in order to die for his country. Does a wife want to show her husband how happy she is? no, she wants him to see how she suffers in order to make him happy. Does the husband go to work thinking he will find personal fulfillment there? no, he is giving his sweat and tears for the good of the family. And so it goes on: sons give up their dreams to please their parents, parents give up their lives in order to please their children; pain and suffering are used to justify the one thing that should bring only LOVE."

"Don?t allow your wounds to transform you into someone you are not."

"Don?t be intimidated by other people?s opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do."

"Does God exist? Unlike many people, this had not been the great inner debate of her life. Under the old Communist regime, the official line in schools had been that life ended with death, and she had gotten used to the idea. On the other hand, her parents? generation and her grandparents? generation still went to church, said prayers, and went on pilgrimages, and were utterly convinced that God listened to what they said. At twenty-four, having experienced everything she could experience?and that was no small achievement?Veronika was almost certain that everything ended with death. That is why she had chosen suicide: freedom at last. Eternal oblivion. In her heart of hearts, though, there was still a doubt: What if God did exist? Thousands of years of civilization had made of suicide a taboo, an affront to all religious codes: Man struggles to survive, not to succumb. The human race must procreate. Society needs workers. A couple has to have a reason to stay together, even when love has ceased to exist, and a country needs soldiers, politicians and artists."

"Don?t close your eyes to the Universe and then complain: ?It?s dark."

"Don?t bother trying to explain your emotions. Live everything as intensely as you can and keep whatever you felt as a gift from God. The best way to destroy the bridge between the visible and invisible is by trying to explain your emotions."

"Don't allow your mind to tell your heart what to do. The mind gives up easily."

"Don?t try to be useful. Try to be yourself; that is enough, and that makes all the difference."

"Don't ask permission. If it does not work, you can apologize later."

"Don't be intimidated by other people's opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do. Seek out people who aren't afraid of making mistakes and who, therefore, do make mistakes."

"Don't explain. Your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe you."

"Don't forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else.......above all don?t forget to follow your destiny through to its conclusion."

"Don't give up. Remember, it's always the last key on the key ring that opens the door."

"Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart."

"Don't listen to the malicious comments of those friends who, never taking any risks themselves, can only see other people's failures."

"Don't let me win without having deserved the pleasure of being the best."

"Don't Forget! She shouted as she walked away. Love persevered. It's the men who change."

"Don't let others say ?That road is better? or ?That route is easier?. The greatest gift God gave us is the power to make decisions."

"Don't live every day as if it were your last. Live every day as if it were your first."

"Don't think about what you've left behind, the alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return... everything is written in the Soul of the World, and there it will stay forever."

"Don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man."

"Don't say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time."

"Don't place your dreams in the hands of those who can destroy them."

"Don't think about what you?ll tell people afterward. The time is here and now. Make the most of it."