"A commonplace life," we say and we sigh,
But why should we sigh as we say?
The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky
Makes up the commonplace day;
The moon and the stars are commonplace things,
And the flower that blooms, and the bird that sings;
But dark were the world, and sad our lot,
If the flowers failed, and the sun shone not;
And if we study each separate soul,
Out of commonplace living, makes a beautiful whole.
Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.
Don't worry about doing extraordinary things; just do ordinary things extraordinarily well.
For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don't enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are you're not going to be very happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn't going to be happy much of the time.
If on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness.
Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day.
If a man loves the labor of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him.
In spite of all our wanderings
Happiness is always found within
a narrow compass and among
objects which lie within our
immediate reach.
It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness.
Man must work. That is certain as the sun. But he may work grudgingly or he may work gratefully; he may work as a man, or he may work as a machine. There is no work so rude, that he may not exalt it; no work so impassive, that he may not breathe a soul into it; no work so dull that he may not enliven it.
Monotony is the law of nature. Look at the monotonous manner in which the sun rises...The monotony of necessary occupations is exhilarating and life-giving.
Normal Day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.
Nothing can be better really than waking up in the morning and everything is still the same as it was the day before. That's the best thing you can have in life, consistency of some kind.
Nothing should be more highly prized than the value of each day.
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, strength of will, content, and a hundred other virtues which the idle never know.
The great doing of little things makes the great life.
The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do.
The true secret of happiness lies in the taking of a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment.
When life seems just a dreary grind,
And things seem fated to annoy,
Say something nice to your dog -
And watch the world light up with joy.
When work is a pleasure, life is a joy;
When work is a duty, life is slavery.
You may be capable of great things, but life consists of small things.
Your greatest ability is the power to choose. By the power of choice, you can make your life creative or you can destroy it. Every day we make many choices. Some are seemingly small, but no choice is altogether insignificant, for upon the most seemingly unimportant choice may ultimately depend the outcome of your life. History, they say, often turns on small hinges. That is also true of people's lives.