Talking about Inspirational Quotes

    It ain't over 'til it's over.
Yogi Berra

      Please don't let me die before I die.
Prayer

While there's life, there's hope.
Cicero

The above quotes encourage us to (1) foster healing hope in the face of grim statistics and (2) live as fully as possible every day.

Berra's aphorism, "It ain't over 'til it's over," conjures an image of a batter stepping up to the plate when all seems lost and making a hit that helps the losing team win the game.  The prayer, " Please don't let me die before I die," asks for help in holding onto the hopes of living fully each day, even if time is limited. Cicero's words, "While there's life, there's hope," make clear that the time to give up all hope is after you die. All three quotes lead you away from despair, an emotional place devoid of all hope. There is always hope.

These quotes also suggest that you are just as alive at the end of your life as you are at the beginning or in the middle.  Berra insists that the baseball game is just as much in play during the bottom of the ninth inning as it is during the first inning.  The prayer pleads, in essence, "While my heart still beats, please don't let me reject the new person I have become (or can become) since illness or injury has made it impossible to be the same person I was before."  Put another way, "While my heart still beats, please don't let me withdraw from life and loved ones.  Please don't let despair steal the on-going opportunities for sharing, giving, loving, and enjoying."  Cicero suggests that you can hope for more than just cure or even improvement in your medical condition.  You can hope for emotional comfort or spiritual growth.  You can hope for more moments of connection, meaning, joy.