In What Direction Are You Moving?

I wanted to call your attention to one of the quotations I Tweeted this week.

It’s something Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. said: “The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.”

I think we often become mired in the misery of where we are at a particular moment in time–especially if that moment in time finds us troubled, unhappy, and low-spirited.

We tend to think life will always be that way. We tend to focus on that moment, that unhappiness, when we should be looking to the future and better times. Look not at where you are, but at where you want to be. In your thoughts, move toward where you want to be. Action follows thought.

I read the quotation from Mr. Holmes many years ago and have often comforted myself with those words, telling myself, “This isn’t forever. I’m moving toward better things.”

Holmes Vs. Holmes

Did you know there are two famous Oliver Wendell Holmes? They were father and son–senior and junior–and each were accomplished in their respective fields of endeavor.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, poet, and polymath–a person whose education or knowledge encompasses many different subject areas so that he/she can draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.

Mr. Holmes Sr. lived in Boston and was acclaimed as one of the best writers of his day. He is quoted often. I find what he had to say about love was especially profound.

“Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”

“Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.”

“The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.”

His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932 and was Acting Chief Justice of the United States from January–February 1930.

Mr. Holmes Jr. is also quoted rather often. His words, like his father’s, resonate with truth.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

“Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”

“We should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe.”

Takeaway Truth

Food for thought gives the nutrition your brain and soul need.