More from and about
Helen Keller
(biographical info at bottom of page)

  

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.

   

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but my chief duty is to
accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.  The
world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes,
but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.

      
Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but
of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set
yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if
you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming
obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain
something beautiful is ever lost.
  
For three things I thank God every day of my life: thanks that he
has vouchsafed me knowledge of his works; deep thanks that he
has set in my darkness the lamp of faith; deep, deepest thanks
that I have another life to look forward to--a life joyous with light
and flowers and heavenly song.
   

For, after all, every one who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the
Hill Difficulty alone, and since there is no royal road to the summit, I must
zigzag it in my own way. I slip back many times, I fall, I stand still, I run
against the edge of hidden obstacles, I lose my temper and find it again
and keep it better, I trudge on, I gain a little, I feel encouraged, I get
more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every
struggle is a victory. One more effort and I reach the luminous cloud, the
blue depths of the sky, the uplands of my desire.

     

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.

   

  

So much has been given to me I have not time
to ponder over that which has been denied.

   

Four things to learn in life: To think clearly without hurry
or confusion; To love everybody sincerely; To act in everything
with the highest motives; To trust God unhesitatingly.

   

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor
do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger
is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is
either a daring adventure, or nothing.

   
    
1880—1968, American author and lecturer, blind and deaf from an undiagnosed illness at the age of two, b. Tuscumbia, Ala. In 1887 she was put under the charge of Anne Sullivan, who was her teacher and companion until Sullivan's death in 1936. As a pupil Helen Keller made rapid progress and was graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 with honors. She lectured all over America and in Europe and Asia, raising funds for the training of the blind and promoting other social causes. Her books include The Story of My Life (1903), The World I Live In (1908), Helen Keller's Journal, 1936—1937 (1938), Let Us Have Faith (1940), and The Open Door (1957).
  

  

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