Faith is a mockery if it does not teach us that we can build a more complete and beautiful world.
Helen KellerWhen one door closes, another one opens, but sometimes we wait too long looking at the closed door, and never realize that another door has been opened.
Helen KellerI believe humility is a virtue, but I prefer not to use it unless it is absolutely necessary.
Helen KellerNo loss by flood and lightning, no destruction of cities and temples by the hostile forces of nature, has deprived man of so many noble lives and impulses as those which his intolerance has destroyed.
Helen KellerThe wise fools who sit in the high places of justice fail to see that in revolutionary times vital issues are settled not by statutes, decrees and authorities, but in spite if them.
Helen KellerWe cannot freely and wisely choose the right way for ourselves unless we know both good and evil.
Helen KellerIt is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.
Helen KellerIt has been said that life has treated me harshly; and sometimes I have complained in my heart because many pleasures of human experience have been withheld from me...if much has been denied me, much, very much, has been given me.
Helen KellerBetter to be blind and see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing.
Helen KellerNext to a leisurely walk I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.
Helen KellerTo keep on trying in spite of disappointment and failure is the only way to keep young and brave. Failures become victories if they make us wise-hearted.
Helen KellerFour things to learn in life: To think clearly without hurry or confusion; To love everybody sincerely; To act in everything with the highest motives; To trust God unhesitatingly.
Helen KellerHappiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.
Helen KellerTrue teaching cannot be learned from text-books any more than a surgeon can acquire his skill by reading about surgery.
Helen KellerKnowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge - broad, deep knowledge - is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low.
Helen KellerUntil the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.
Helen KellerWhat is the use of such terrible diligence as many tire themselves out with, if they always postpone their exchange of smiles with Beauty and Joy to cling to irksome duties and relations?
Helen KellerA simple, childlike faith in a Divine Friend solves all the problems that come to us by land or sea
Helen KellerWe can decide to let our trials crush us, or we can convert them to new forces of good.
Helen KellerWhen one reads hurriedly and nervously, having in mind written tests and examinations, one's brain becomes encumbered with a lot of bric-a-brac for which there seems to be little use.
Helen KellerGullibility is the key to all adventures. The greenhorn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he who gets the most out of life.
Helen KellerSmell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.
Helen KellerWhen one comes to think of it, there are no such things as divine, immutable, or inalienable rights. Rights are things we get when we are strong enough to make good our claim on them.
Helen KellerBe of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere, and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles... Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.
Helen KellerI hung about the dangerous frontier of "guess," avoiding with infinite trouble to myself and others the broad valley of reason.
Helen KellerThe test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life. If it be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards it, then it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy.
Helen KellerI have walked with people whose eyes are full of light but who see nothing in sea or sky, nothing in city streets, nothing in books. It were far better to sail forever in the night of blindness with sense, and feeling, and mind, than to be content with the mere act of seeing. The only lightless dark is the night of darkness in ignorance and insensibility.
Helen KellerNow, however, I see the folly of attempting to hitch one's wagon to a star with a harness that does not belong to it.
Helen KellerDeep, solemn optimism, it seems to me, should spring from this firm belief in the presence of God in the individual; not a remote, unapproachable governor of the universe, but a God who is very near every one of us, who is present not only in earth, sea and sky, but also in every pure and noble impulse of our hearts.
Helen KellerSome people are foolish enough to imagine that wealth and power and fame satisfy our hearts: but they never do, unless they are used to create and distribute happiness in the world.
Helen KellerUse your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. Hear the music of voices, the song of birds, the mighty strains of an orchestra as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow . . . Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. Glory in all the facts of pleasure and beauty which the world reveals to you.
Helen KellerThe highest thinkers of the ages, the seers of the tribes and the nations, have been optimists.
Helen KellerThe danger of having the Constitution twisted and misconstrued to support vested interests and prejudices must be guarded against if American democracy is to maintain a progressive character.
Helen Keller