Wisdom from the Wise
A few weeks ago, I shared my excitement about Quest for Eternal Sunshine’s inclusion in Parade Magazine’s list of the top 24 memoirs of 2020. Since then, I’ve listened to two of the other books on the list, Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, and Alicia Keys’ More Myself: A Journey. Both were powerful—honest, intimate, inspiring, and filled with wisdom.
One of the central themes in each book mirrored my father’s message: in order to live a joyous, fulfilling life and reach our full potential, it’s essential to liberate ourselves from society’s constricting expectations so we can be true to ourselves, and live from the inside out, versus the outside in. As my father once said, “To feel free, stop trying to live up to your own—and everyone else’s—expectations.” Taking this path requires strength, courage and resolve.
Because I love great wisdom-packed quotes, I want to share my favorites from each book with you.
From Untamed, by Glennon Doyle:
“When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.”
“You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.”
“I did not know that I was supposed to feel everything. I thought I was supposed to feel happy.”
“Privilege is being born on third base. Ignorant privilege is thinking you’re there because you hit a triple. Malicious privilege is complaining that those starving outside the ballpark aren’t waiting patiently enough.”
From More Myself, A Journey, by Alicia Keys
“When I reveal my true heart, not everyone is going to approve. What I know now is that I don’t need them to.”
“We adjust ourselves to fit, to adapt to others’ ideas of who we should be. We shift ourselves not in sweeping pivots but in movements so tiny that they are hardly perceptible even in our view. Years can pass before we finally discover that after handing over our power, piece by small piece, we no longer even look like ourselves.”
“Fame for the sake of fame had never been the dream. But spreading light is a pleasure.”
“Death is a gift meant to wake up the living, to nudge us toward a life of purpose and intention.”
“Nothing but uncertainty is certain… It’s not that the ground underneath me was suddenly shifting; it’s that it is never still. That’s part of the work of my journey—getting comfortable with life’s groundlessness.”
PS: Both Glennon and Alicia did a great job narrating their Audible books, and Alicia’s contained many notable guest appearances, including Bono, Jay-Z, Oprah, and Michelle Obama!
