Helen Keller has been a truly inspiring icon. Having lost sight and hearing ability at a very young age, Helen learned to grapple with life’s small and big struggles. Her indomitable spirit saw her through her handicap. Here are quotes from a blind woman who help change the world.
On Love:
It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.
On Optimism:
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.
On Faith:
Believe. No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
On Power:
It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal.
On Ambition:
One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.
On Optimism:
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
On Companionship:
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
On Ability:
We can do anything we want if we stick to it long enough.
On Life:
We would never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world.
On Self Confidence:
What I am looking for is not out there; it is in me.
On Politics:
Our democracy is but a name. We vote. What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real — though not avowed — autocrats. We choose between ‘Tweedledum’ and ‘Tweedledee’.
On Decision Making:
People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
On Character:
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.
On Faith:
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
On Ability:
I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do something I can do.
On Life:
I believe in the immortality of the soul because I have within me immortal longings.
On Completing Tasks:
I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
On her Inadequacies:
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.
On Vision:
It gives me a deep, comforting sense that things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal.
On Relationships:
Relationships are like Rome — difficult to start out, incredible during the prosperity of the ‘golden age’, and unbearable during the fall. Then, a new kingdom will come along and the whole process will repeat itself until you come across a kingdom like Egypt… that thrives, and continues to flourish. This kingdom will become your best friend, your soul mate, and your love.
On Apathy:
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all — the apathy of human beings.
On Life:
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
