I love a good inspirational quote. Not directives that seem to lecture, but thoughts that make me smile or enthuse me to work well, love well, and live well. Besides, as Mary Pettibone Poole says, “The next best thing to being clever is being able to quote someone who is.” And plenty of wise words have been spoken about taking care.
Here are some taking care quotes that I think apply nicely to the C2K lifestyle. Please share any others you like in the comments section below!
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall
There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude. Ralph Blum
If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things. Emily Dickinson
Success consists of doing common things in life uncommonly well. John O’Donohue
We can do something extraordinary by doing something ordinary with love. Lucinda Varday
Thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society. We receive gifts in boxes from stores that went out of business twenty years ago. Erma Bombeck
The case for recycling is strong. The bottom line is clear. Recycling requires a trivial amount of our time. Recycling saves money and reduces pollution. Recycling creates more jobs than landfilling or incineration. And a largely ignored but very important consideration, recycling reduces our need to dump our garbage in someone else’s backyard. – David Morris
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. Robert Swan
The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Chinese proverb
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. Mahatma Ghandi
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
There is no such thing as “away”. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere. Annie Leonard
The most environmentally friendly product is the one you didn’t buy. Joshua Becker
Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want. Anna Lappe
Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body. George Carlin
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank
Going back to a simpler life based on living by sufficiency rather than excess is not a step backward. Yvon Chouinard
The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. No, not at all. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be. Robert Fulghum
How would the person I wish to be act today? James Clear
The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. William Morris
Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most. Abraham Lincoln
You will express yourself in your house whether you want to or not. Elsie de Wolfe
We are lovers of beauty without extravagance. Thucydides
Each of us literally choses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit. William Jones
I’m going to make everything around me beautiful — that will be my life. Elsie de Wolfe
Decorating is not about making stage sets; it’s not about making pretty pictures for magazines; it’s really about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul. Albert Hadley
Do small things with great love. Mother Teresa
I’m willing to pay attention to the little things; when they’re right they shore us up, when they’re wrong, they are a burden. Pascal
The care and maintenance that we put into our immediate physical environment, our homes, our gardens, our possessions, our clothes, will always add to our sense of well-being and inner peace. Alexandra Stoddard
What are your favorite quotes about taking care?
If you enjoy inspirational quotes, you might like to check out one of my favorite collections, Great Quotes from Great Women: Words from the Women Who Shaped the World, by Peggy Anderson.
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