To make an apple pie from scratch,
you must first invent the universe.

Carl Sagan

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

"Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky,
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are."

Jane Taylor (1783-1824), Rhymes for the Nursery [1806], The Star

Some people see things as they are and ask 'Why?';
I dream things that never were and ask 'Why not?'

George Bernard Shaw (and RFK)

We succeeded in taking that picture [of Earth from deep space], and,
if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us...
on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.
The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the
rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in
glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a
fraction of a dot...Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the
delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are
challenged by this point of pale light.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In
our obscurity -- in all this vastness -- there is no hint that help
will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us.
It's been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a
character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better
demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image
of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal
more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and
cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Carl Sagan (1934-1996), Reflections on a Mote of Dust(an image of Earth taken by Voyager 1 from the edge of the Solar System)

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

Bertrand Russell

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you
have lived. This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and love.

William Wordsworth

There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

It is well to remember that the entire universe,
with one trifling exception, is composed of others.

John Andrew Holmes