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Words from an Old Box


I found this quote on a greeting card that I'd thrown in an old box:

"Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
— Goethe

I have several things I need to begin. I have thought around them, but not begun them. I used to have this quote up in my office. I'm not sure why I took it down. It's like a firm hand on my shoulder leading me to step out and just begin. Beginnings don't have to be perfect or pretty, but they do need to start. But I don't have time, I'll say. Or it's late or it's early or I'm not sure I can…

I found another quote. this one by Frederick Buechner. It was stuck in the old box along with Goethe's challenge.  It always shocks me with it's power.

"The place where God wants you is where your deep gladness and the world's hunger meet."

And a third one jumped out at me.

"A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book."
— Ernest Hemingway

Well, they're out on my desk now — these thoughts I've loved from years ago that now seem like a song in three-part harmony. I know one thing — I won't be able to ignore them. It is good to rummage through an old box every now and then.