Calendar offers bits of wisdom

I was given a calendar last Christmas, “The 365 Smartest Things Ever Said,” created by a brother and sister writing team, Ross and Kathryn Petras. Petra is the Greek word for rock. I hope you find a boulder or even a pebble of wisdom in the sampler below.

“Once you have money, you can quite truthfully affirm that money isn’t everything.” —Louis Kronenberger

“Miracles happen all the time. We’re here, aren’t we?” —Marilyn Nelson

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.” —Steve Martin

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the Eyes of others only a Green thing which stands in the way. As a man is, so he sees.” —William Blake

“The past is edited.” —David Hockney

“A leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.” —Walt Whitman

“There’s a point when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life or to make a virtue of your peculiarities.” —Ursula K. Le Guin

“Nearly all can stand adversity, but if you want to test character, give someone power.” —Robert Ingersoll

“You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.” —Stephen King

“All the colors I am inside have not been invented yet.” —Shel Silverstein

“Believe those who are seeking truth; doubt those who find it.” —Andre Gide

“It is we who are passing when we say time passes.” —Henri Bergson

“One who dares not offend cannot be honest.” —Thomas Paine

“All of us alive are survivors, but how many of us transcend survival?” —Joan Baez

“The first rule of holes: When you’re in one, stop digging.” —Molly Ivins

“If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you often get it.” —Somerset Maugham