Helen keller quotes optimism1/12/2024 ![]() ![]() Most people measure their happiness in terms of physical pleasure and material possession. No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.īut Keller admonishes against the “what-if” mentality that pegs our happiness on the attainment of material possession, which always proves vacant, rather than on accessing a deeper sense of purpose: The will to be happy animates alike the philosopher, the prince and the chimney-sweep. Certainly most of us regard happiness as the proper end of all earthly enterprise. She opens the first half of the book, Optimism Within, by reflecting on the universal quest for happiness, that alluring and often elusive art-science at the heart of all human aspiration:Ĭould we choose our environment, and were desire in human undertakings synonymous with endowment, all men would, I suppose, be optimists. Simply titled Optimism ( public library | free ebook), it was originally published in 1903 and written - a moment of pause here - after Keller learned to write on a grooved board over a sheet of paper, using the grooves and the end of her index pencil to guide her writing. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.Decades before the dawn of the positive psychology movement and a century before what neuroscience has taught us about the benefits of optimism, Helen Keller (June 27, 1880–June 1, 1968) - the remarkable woman who grew up without sight and hearing until, with the help of her teacher Annie Sullivan, she learned to speak, read, write, and inhabit the life of the mind with such grace and fierceness that made her one of history’s most inspired intellectual heroes - penned a timeless treatise on optimism as a philosophy of life. Conclusions are not always pleasant.Īvoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his. ![]() While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done. ![]() We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world. It then appears that we are among the privileged. Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us. Look the world straight in the eye.Īll the world is full of suffering. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.Ĭharacter cannot be developed in ease and quiet. No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. Here are 25 inspirational Helen Keller quotes on happiness, vision and purpose. She brought inspiration by being a powerful example of how determination and hard work can allow anyone to overcome life’s most terrible obstacles. Sullivan’s success with Helen remains an extraordinary and remarkable story and is best known to people because of the movie The Miracle Worker.Īfter college, Keller became a well-known lecturer by sharing her experiences with audiences, and working on behalf of others living with disabilities. Her mother never gave up on her and constantly tried to find solutions that would better her daughter’s condition. Thus, Helen’s life changed when Anne Sullivan came to Tuscumbia to be her teacher.
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