Witty Wisdom with Mark

I enjoyed reading through these quotations from Mark Twain.  My six favorite quotations are:

1. "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." -Following the Equator, 1897, vol. 2, ch. 16 (p. 9)

2. "The best way to cheer up yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up." -Notebook, 1896 (p. 36)

3. "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." - Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894, ch. 12 (p. 49)

4. "There are those who scoff at the school-boy, calling him frivolous and shallow.  Yet it was the school-boy who said, 'Faith is believing what you know ain't so.'" - Following the Equator, 1897, vol. 1, ch. 12 (p. 74)

5. "A good and wholesome thing is a little harmless fun in this world; it tones a body up and keeps him human and prevents him from souring." -Joan of Arc, 1896, bk. 2, ch. 21 (p. 83)

6. "Grief can take care of itself; but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with." - Following the Equator, 1897, vol. 2, ch. 12 (p. 129)


I think that all of these quotes are equally my favorite, but I really identify with the last quote.  I love the differentiation between grief and joy that people don't generally think about.  You can deal with grief all on your own, even though it is helpful sometimes to have family and friends around you.  I would never have thought about the idea that you don't fully experience joy unless you have somebody to share it with.  People always think about sharing their grief, but it's not always the first thought that you have to share your joy.  But if you think about it, when something amazing happens, there is always that one person that you want to share it with.  Joy is an amazing thing that sometimes we take for granted, even though we always look forward to experiencing it.

I actually really enjoyed reading through Mark Twain's quotes.  He really has some great insights.  Some were humorous, and some were just great to read.  I didn't realize how many great things he had to say!