I often wonder what would have being with Douglas Pagels' mind when he said "A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be." It appears much more like a lesson in life, and never actually a quote from anywhere. I always try to imagine the people who explained these quotes and ponder why they speak out loud even after hundreds of years have ended past and the people have died.
There are those who have been quoted to death. Aside from the Ancient greek philosophers, individuals have observed nuggets of inspirational quotes in books, copied them into greeting cards and now they are destined to be permanently part of our lives. Einstein is cited usually, even though most people who do quote him have small knowledge of who he was. My top features are always those that are given double meaning. Woody Allen is among those individuals who say countless funny things that for some reason turn to be profound. He exposes death in a rather comical perception but you can turn it around. "There are even worse things in life than death. Have you ever before spent an evening with an insurance personnel?" His wise approach to life can be a calming balm when life feels very serious. His crazy quotations like "The skill for being cheerful is appreciating and also loving precisely what you have, instead of what you don't have." offer serious enthusiasm and it remains my extremely preferred quotation once I keep worrying about points I have control over.