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French-Cuban writer Anaïs Nin is known for her poignant, intimate personal diaries, which often read like novels, detailing the depth of her affection for various friends and lovers, and her sensitivity to the workings of the world around her. This quote is from an entry in September 1939: World War II had just begun, and Nin discovered that a close friend had enlisted in the French army. Even faced with the potential loss of a loved one, she relinquishes control, committing to love without conditions. Nin’s words remind us that often, the best thing we can do for the people close to us is simply to love them, without trying to manage or change them.
Famous for her clever aphorisms, journalist Mignon McLaughlin summarizes the nature of hope here in a simple but powerful way. When we are going through our darkest days, hope is the little ray of light that reminds us there are brighter times ahead. Hard times are not permanent, and holding on to hope that this, too, shall pass, is what gives us strength to get through them.
With these words, poet Emily Dickinson suggests that happiness often depends on living in the moment — and reminding ourselves that life itself is bound with countless wonderful experiences, small surprises, and endless possibilities. In an 1870 letter to her editor and longtime correspondent T.W. Higginson, Dickinson wrote, “That it will never come again is what makes life sweet.” The famously reclusive poet understood that to experience peace in life we must seek out simple pleasures, and find gratefulness for the small joys we might easily take for granted.
Katharine Hepburn made her Broadway debut in 1928, the same year she graduated from Bryn Mawr College. After a four-year rise to stardom on the stage, she was invited to Hollywood to work with the RKO Radio Pictures movie studio. Having been raised to value honesty, education, and physical fitness, Hepburn was considered outspoken and eccentric. While other starlets of the time strove to maintain the appearance of flawless glamour, she dressed casually in public and wore pantsuits long before it was fashionable for women to do so. Her career spanned more than 60 years, during which she won four Academy Awards and countless other accolades. She died in 2003 at the age of 96, and will forever be remembered as one of the great stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
In 1972, writer and activist Alice Walker delivered this empowering message to students at her alma mater of Sarah Lawrence College. Following the success of her novel "The Color Purple" in 1982, Walker published this speech in her collection of essays "In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens." With this statement, she encourages self-respect in the face of mistreatment by those who dismiss, limit, or neglect your value. She reinforces this advice throughout the speech by highlighting the often-overlooked contributions of Black women. In so doing, she braces women of color for the reality of their struggle, while inspiring them with the determination to overcome it. It's a credo that can resonate with anyone: A true friend is someone who supports you and encourages you to be your best, authentic self.
Jack Kornfield is a spiritual teacher who helped introduce Buddhist practices into Western mainstream culture in the 1970s. Educated in the United States, he joined the Peace Corps and worked in tropical medicine in Southeast Asia. His travels led him to train as a Buddhist monk for several years in Thailand, India, and Myanmar (then called Burma). Upon his return to the U.S., Kornfield co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and continued his studies, writing numerous books and giving talks on Buddhist philosophy. Many of his teachings focus on the need to let go of attempts to control our lives in order to reflect more deeply. In loosening our grip on a situation, we can also release the fear that surrounds it, making way for the calm that comes from acceptance.