Wallace Stegner Quotes

Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which cannot be changed, the courage to change that which should be changed, no matter what it takes, and the wisdom to know the difference.

If you were wise enough to know that this life would consist mostly of letting go of things you wanted, then why not get good at the letting go, rather than the trying to have?

Maturity is the ability to live in peace with that which we cannot change.

Life is a lot easier when you realize that you're not in control of it all.

I'll always be in some type of turmoil. So what I've tried to do is just surrender to that.

Accept what you cannot control.

Joy is in learning to say yes to what is and to surrender into flow with what is, even when it's what you don't want.

Happiness is dealing with setbacks with more grace, understanding and acceptance

Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.

If you persist in trying to attain what is never attained (It is Tao's gift), if you persist in making effort to obtain what effort cannot get, if you persist in reasoning about what cannot be understood, you will be destroyed by the very thing you seek. To know when to stop, to know when you can get no further by your own action, this is the right beginning!

Do not abandon trust when your ego thinks things should be different than they are.

I'm not wise, but the beginning of wisdom is there; it's like relaxing into - and an acceptance of - things.

Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.

I was willing to accept what I couldn't change.

Life is accepting what is and working from that.

You know, once you have been through a certain amount of things in life, you definitely grow more comfortable with yourself.

Never give up, which is the lesson I learned from boxing. As soon as you learn to never give up, you have to learn the power and wisdom of unconditional surrender, and that one doesn't cancel out the other; they just exist as contradictions. The wisdom of it comes as you get older.

I think it's nice to age gracefully. OK, you lose the youth, a certain stamina and dewy glow, but what you gain on the inside as a human being is wonderful: the wisdom, the acceptance and the peace of mind. It's a fair exchange.

Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't go well.

But I'm not an idiot. At the end of the day, I've learned a lot.

If we can remain present and deal with the moment in front of us, no matter what our battle, then if we lose, we'll know that ultimately we weren't supposed to win that battle in the first place.

I've learned over and over that life happens on its own terms, not mine.

I worry about the things I can affect, and the things I have no control over I move by.

To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.

Knowledge means being in the place where we are put.