5 Funny Quotes That Spit on Death

From Denny: Death is a subject few people in America want to deal with and yet it happens to us all - well, almost all, maybe some of us are part of the Highlander's Immortal Clan. Time will tell on that one! :)

Death is like this celebrity no one wants to meet. (Hmmm... sounds like one of those quotable quotes your own spirit speaks out loud when you just know something is really true...)

This past week the news coverage has been heavy on the passing of a political American icon, Senator Ted Kennedy. He was fully prepared for death as he had his faith and relationship with God. People who are spiritually connected do well when their time comes.

People who are more connected only to religion and only on the mental, not heart, level don't do well. The heart really is the center of our spirits. Yet, it's amazing how easily we can hide the truth from ourselves - until a significant event like the passing of a celebrity or a beloved family member opens the door to our heart to take some inventory.

This has been a rough week of spiritual shake-up and awakening for millions of people in America. People are examining their own lives as to their current path and how they would like to alter their course to something far more positive. Observing Ted Kennedy's life in review from the shameful to the triumphant gives us all pause to say, "What's next?"

I thought folks might like a little emotional cool down from all the intensity this past week. Included today are some funny witty quotes about how others perceived Death, that unwelcome odious guy no one wants to invite to their house. To me, there is nothing better than putting your face into the wind and pushing forward into the scary unknown, only to discover incredible new wonders and be delightfully amazed at newly found spiritual awareness. It also helps to laugh a lot along the way.

Quotes

* Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it. - W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright, 1874 - 1965

* Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. - Susan Ertz, short story writer and novelist, 1894 - 1985

* I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. - Mark Twain, writer and American humorist, 1835 - 1910

* I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. - Clarence Darrow, American lawyer, 1857 - 1938

* Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them. - Edward W. Howe, American writer

How Do You Achieve Greatness With Little Effort?

From Denny: Have you ever noticed how human nature does not change over the centuries? You have only to read what writer Mark Twain said 100 years ago to realize it still holds true.

All the success gurus and positive thinkers of today are recycling truisms of the past because there is little institutional memory from generation to generation. What memory we do have of what humanity has managed to figure out as truth is deposited in our literature from ancient history to today.

“Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” - Mark Twain

Photo by muha... @ flickr

How Would You Define Honesty?

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From Denny: Another great writer from our more recent American past, Mark Twain, also a great humorist.

"Honesty: The best of all the lost arts." - Mark Twain

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A Word to the Wise...

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From Denny: How many times have we heard the phrase "a word to the wise..." and then some proverb? Well, leave it to a comedian to corrupt such a serious saying - and using the truth to do it!

"A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby, American comedian (Dr. William H. Cosby actually)

Happiness

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"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up." - Mark Twain