25 Mottoes People Live By

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

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25 MOTTOES PEOPLE LIVE BY

Buried within human interest stories and life-end stories on the obituary pages are clues to who people are, their beingness, as opposed to what they’ve done, their doingness.

When interviewing for newspaper feature stories I view it as an opportunity to know the person and to present his/her beingness to the story’s readers.

For example, I’ve written numerous articles on pastors new to a community, which I then compare to write-ups in other newspapers. Many—if not most—of the other articles presented the pastor in terms of denomination,   education, previous pastorates. If this is all the article does, it presents the pastor in a doingness point of view.

The doingness data is important in that it offers clues as to who a person’s beingness. But it isn’t enough. A key question is What was the journey that brought you into the life of the ministry?  Its answer, along with other probing questions, provides information about the person’s beingness.

I challenge you to write a Tweet-length motto (or mottoes) that defines you, describes your being. In my attempt I created the following:

• Life is a journey of relationships
• The only failure is the lack of trying
• Failure is not an option

Below is a list of 25 beingness quotes gleaned from articles or obituaries. I aim to continue this list on beingness  on my

Twitter site…Carolyn C. Holland…by posting one doingness Tweet each day.

25 BEINGNESS QUOTES

1. He sought the defining moment to photograph.—Chuck Martin
2. True friends are difficult to find, hard to leave, and impossible to forget. Unknown
3. In my friend I find a second self.  Isabel Norton
4. Put your heart at His feet; it is the gift He loves best. St. Elizabeth Seton
5. She was the type of person who thought the glass was not only half full, but three-quarters full. —said of Beverly Eisenberg breast cancer victim, Dedham MA
6. She inspires loyalty. —said of Beverly Eisenberg, breast cancer victim, Dedham MA
7. Always ready to laugh, and her generosity seemed to have no limit. —Mary Accettulla obit, (130820 Tribune-Review)
8. She was unconventional, carving her own path. —Mollie Michala Lyman
9. She saw life as chapters filled with new challenges, so she lived not one but many lives. —Mollie Michala Lyman
10. His architecture blended utility, artistry.  Robert B. Irwin, 86, obituary  Tribune-Review 130827
11. Locals remember her not for the lottery money she won, but for how she spent it.  —Sheelah Ryan obit, New York Times
12. If you had her for a friend you really only needed one friend. —Sheelah Ryan obit, New York Times
13. He taught us that nature was to be respected and loved. —Robert M. Brenza obit, Tribune-Review 130828
14. Take the high road, maintain respect and dignity above all else. —Robert M. Brenza obit, Tribune-Review 130828
15. Our motto is ‘eat, drink and share. —motto of Bohem Bohemian Bistro
16. it is not of so much consequence what you say as how you say it. —Colin McNickle
17. Regardless of how tough life gets, (parents0 have to love your family and your children.  — Dr. Pascal Spino:  Doctor’s legacy: Love kids  Luis Fabregas, Tribune-Review, August 12, 2013,pp B1
18. Work Hard. Be Nice. —Kevin Sousa, Restaurant owner-chef
19. You can only take with you what you give away. —Lewis M. Lynn obit, Tribune-Review 8/30/2013
20. He was very witty, had a wonderful dry sense of humor, but it was wrapped up in compassion.—John E. Brownell, Jr. obit, Tribune-Review 8/30/013
21. I have a dream… —Martin Luther King
22. Don’t waste people’s time … ultimately, it’s all we have. —Ben Opie, Saxophonist
23. The harder you work the luckier you get.  —Suzie McConnell-Serio, Pitt women’s basketball coach
24. Be Inspired. Be Strong. Be You.  —Darieth Chisolm , WPXI anchor and entrepreneur   http://triblive.com/lifestyles/morelifestyles/4376565-74/sousa-says-nice#axzz2cKa8AhXq
25. Reasoning undergirds every successful professional project.  Colin McNickle

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ADDITIONAL READING:

WordPress Daily Prompt July 7, 2013: The Nomadic Life?

A Meeting of Chat Room Friends

Celebrating 1000 Posts on CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS