Words from the Wise

These are some of my favorite quotes by some very smart individuals:

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life...you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and incredible beauty."
~Alex Supertramp aka Chris McCandless

"In fifty years our grandchildren (if any survive) will look back at the billions of us who knowingly and wantonly laid the entire world to waste and wonder what kind of monsters we were…"
~Daniel Quinn

"I have seen that community and a close relationship with the land can enrich human life beyond all comparison with material wealth or technological sophistication."
~Helena Norberg-Hodge

"There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living."
~Henry David Thoreau