Henri Nouwen Quotes

Be thankful that you have a life, and forsake your vain and presumptuous desire for a second one.

No man enjoys the true taste of life, but he who is ready and willing to quit it.

Be content to be what you are, and prefer nothing to it, and do not fear or wish for your last day.

I am so thrilled by the privilege of life, and yet at the same time I know that I have to let it go.

To enjoy anything, we cannot be attached to it... What we usually try to do is capture any joy that comes our way before it can escape... We try to cling to pleasure, but all we succeed in doing is making ourselves frustrated because, whatever it promises, pleasure simply cannot last. But if I am willing to kiss the joy as it flies, I say, "Yes, this moment is beautiful. I won't grab it. I'll let it go."

We have to realize that our lives could be gone in a moment. There are no guarantees that we will be here at this time next year. Learn to live each day to the fullest. Don't complain. Don't focus on what's wrong. Be grateful for the opportunity to experience each day.

Inner peace begins when we stop saying of things, 'I have lost it' and instead say, 'It has been returned to where it came from.' Why should it be any concern of yours who gives your things back to the world that gave them to you? The important thing is to take great care with what you have while the world lets you have it.

Don't ever over-analyze your results. Don't ever try to find your own secret or the one which you admire. One does not try to catch soap bubbles. One enjoys them in flight and is grateful for their fluid existence.

No longer forward or behind I look in hope or fear, But grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here.

Allowing dying to be so intensely present enriches both the preciousness of each moment and our detachment from it.

Accept what comes to you totally & completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it & then let it go.

Receive the gifts of fortune without pride, and part with them without reluctance.

There are people out there dying every day, so when you wake up, you just have to thank the Man Upstairs for another day on this planet. There's not much else we can ask for.

I can't be smug, because I know that you can lose anything at any point. And I can't be angry, because I haven't lost it.

I've been really aware of how important it is to me to just stay in the moment and enjoy it while it lasts. Because that's all you've got. If it ends, I'll move on to doing something else. If it lasts, great.

I get it now; I didn't get it then. That life is about losing and about doing it as gracefully as possible... and enjoying everything in between.

Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.

I embrace old age. Look, I'm never going to dunk on LeBron James, and I've learned to accept that. I got a pretty good life, and I'm very fortunate, and I have my blessings.

What I have learned over the years is to try to stay in the moment. I want to feel it all because I've realized nothing lasts.

Welcome anything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.

Nobody lives forever and I've had a blessed life.

I don't regret the passing of time. I try to live in the present, which should mean my life's full.

To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.

I am sensible of the velocity of the moments, and entering that part of my head alert to the motion of the world I am aware that life was never perfect, never absolute. This bestows contentment, even a fearlessness.

I realise how precious life is, probably because I've seen how it can be taken away.