Throughout history, people have found that inspiring quotes can offer more than simple respite during an inexplicable period. What makes each reach into our hearts and minds is unique, and frequently connects to the context in which the words were said. Lou Gehrig, who had to leave his baseball career behind after a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), addressed the crowd attending a “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” ceremony on July 4, 1939 by saying: “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. . . . I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”
Over the years his story has inspired many. In part, this is because Gerhig’s attitude toward his situation speaks deeply about his character. The poet Ogden Nash celebrated Gehrig in a verse titled “Lineup for Yesterday, ” penned ten years after the ball player’s death.
Even today, this ballplayer’s courage has continued to inspire. In 1942, for example, Gary Cooper played Gehrig in “The Pride of the Yankees, ” a film that gave to substance to Gehrig’s words. Several books, like Ray Robinson’s 1990 “Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time” and Jonathan Eig’s 2005 “Luckiest Man” further bring to mind how an inspirational quote can become a part of a narrative that people return to because it is motivational as well as inspirational.
Gehrig’s story is meaningful because he is well known Many quotations speak to a humanness we all share, whether or not many have heard our story. When a words such as “We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are, ” it is possible to embrace their wisdom even when no individual is associated with the thought. The universal essence of the idea, in this case from The Talmud, works on its own terms.
For example, Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) was a French novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer. Like many nineteenth century literary figures, he was syphilitic. For many years he wrote of the pain he endured, now collected in the volume titled In The Land of Pain. His words, “Pain is always new to the sufferer, but loses its originality for those around him” are perhaps not quite as well known as those of a fellow nineteenth century syphilitic, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Nietzsche is credited with saying: “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
Another person whose words and works have inspired is Stephen W. Hawking. Often compared to Isaac Newton (1664-1669) today, it is ironic that Hawking holds the professorship at Cambridge that was once Newton’s. Aside from his extraordinary scientific achievements, Hawking is know for defying the expectations that he would die young. He was diagnosed with ALS at a young age.
After learning that he would suffer progressive loss of muscle control and a truncated life, Hawking focused on the cosmological studies that have since made him famous. He has said: “I’m sure my disability has a bearing on why I am well known. People are fascinated by the contrast between my very limited physical powers, and the vast nature of the universe I deal with.”
Inspiring quotes often speak as much to who one is as they do to what one can become. Helen Keller’s story is well known, so one can appreciate her struggles to live fully. She said: “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” In part, these words inspire others because in her life she didn’t let circumstances hold her back.
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