Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.

I admire the work of brilliant actresses such as Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren, who have had such varied careers. They have never stopped working, and they are as great today as they ever were.

“we don’t know which of our acts in the present will shape the future. But” 

“The road is messy in the way that real life is messy. It leads us out of denial and into reality, out of theory and into practice, out of caution and into action, out of statistics and into stories—in short, out of our heads and into our hearts.” 

I had taken an acting class at Berkeley - I was on the track team, and a friend of mine on the team said, 'You should take an acting class. It's just like recess.' So I viewed it as a simple credit.

“The road is messy in the way that real life is messy. It leads us out of denial and into reality, out of theory and into practice, out of caution and into action, out of statistics and into stories—in short, out of our heads and into our hearts.” 

“The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice.”

“To hurry through one’s leisure is the most unbusiness-like of actions.”

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.

The more there are riots, the more repressive action will take place, and the more we face the danger of a right-wing takeover and eventually a fascist society.

Voting is the foundation stone for political action.

Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.

Quality is not an act, it is a habit.

It is easy to perform a good action, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.

"It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys."

"The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something."

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step."

“In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contradictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.” 

“In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contradictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.” 

When we are motivated by compassion and wisdom, the results of our actions benefit everyone, not just our individual selves or some immediate convenience. When we are able to recognize and forgive ignorant actions of the past, we gain strength to constructively solve the problems of the present.

Compassion is of little value if it just remains an idea. It must motivate how we respond to others and be reflected in all our thoughts and actions.

Because motivation pervades all action, it is important that we have a positive motivation. Whatever we are involved in, whether it’s politics, education, medicine, law, engineering, science, business or industry, the nature of our motivation determines the character of our work.