Quote Image - Desktop Image
Quote Image- Mobile Image
Email pink icon
Get the Daily Inspiration in your inbox

By subscribing to Inspiring Quotes you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Let us not go back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.

Separator icon
James Thurber

These words conclude the foreword to 1961’s “Lanterns and Lances,” the last essay collection author James Thurber published during his prolific career. Although the writer and cartoonist’s work inspired the annual Thurber Prize for American Humor, here he expresses a sincere desire for his readers: Don’t let past disappointments color how you see the world. When entering any situation, assuming the worst suspends our ability to access authentic emotions, and, as a result, to make clear-eyed, open-hearted decisions. By contrast, Thurber asserted that his creative life was guided by “a basic and indestructible thread of hope.”

Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "Tolerance, like any aspect of ___, is forever a work in progress." - Octavia E. Butler
More Inspiration
Featured Articles