Elaine Stritch Quotes

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

I'm no Buddhist monk, and I can't say I'm in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I've written, or missing out on the N.B.A. Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did.

In anything, there has to be that moment of fasting, really, in order to enjoy the feast.

When he asked my grandmother if she would mind being poor, she said she would be happy just to have her daughter and himself: 'If you have love, even plain water is sweet.

To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.

Pray to God that your attachment to such transitory things as wealth, name, and creature comforts may become less and less every day.

I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.

I don't believe happiness comes out of material gain, for sure.

It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.

With renunciation life begins.

Whatever requires an undue amount of thought or trouble or involves a large expenditure of effort and causes our whole life to revolve, as it were, around solicitude for the flesh must be avoided by Christians.

First and foremost, the monk should own nothing in this world, but he should have as his possessions solitude of the body, modesty of bearing, a modulated tone of voice, and a well-ordered manner of speech. He should be without anxiety as to his food and drink, and should eat in silence.

Happiness consists not in having much, but in being content with little.

You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.

It is easy to get everything you want, provided you first learn to do without the things you cannot get.

I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.

I don't need many things. I don't need glamour and attention to be happy. I'm very happy being settled and working my butt off and trying to win grand slams.

India profoundly changed my outlook on life because you see how people can be content and very happy with little or even no possessions. It's the reverse of the West.

Be satisfied with needs instead of wants.

Simple things make me very happy.

I am just so grateful for every single day, and if I could just not think past today, I would be living the life that I think God meant me to live.

Asceticism doesn't lie in mere words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesn't lie in visiting burial places; it lies not in wandering about nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage. Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities.

I'm not a showoff. My happiness comes from very basic and simple things.

The key is to be Zen-like and be happy with what one has.

I grew up with nothing, and I know that I don't need anything to be happy. We were wearing second-hand clothing and eating leftovers, and I was so happy. Five-star hotels and private pick-ups hasn't changed that.