Did you know that according to Pew Research, about a quarter of Americans haven’t read a book in the past year?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved to read and write. Recently when I visited my parents, my mom pulled out a piece of paper from when I was a kid, where I was talking about what I wanted to be when I grow up. Wouldn’t you know, I said that I wanted to be a writer and someone who helps people? Some things never change! My job titles these days include food & wellness writer, publicist and healthy living blogger.
To this day, I like having a good old fashioned book in my hands. But whether you prefer old school books, reading on your Kindle, or listening to audio books, books are an important way to learn and expand your horizons.
While I don’t have a ton of time to read these days and find that my eyes are often too tired for reading late at night when I do have a chance to open a book, I always brings books with me on beach days and trips.
One type of book that I like to read falls into the mindfulness/self-empowerment/positive psychology category. Recently, I finished reading Oprah’s The Wisdom of Sundays. I always feel inspired when I catch an episode of her show Super Soul Sundays, and this book was an extension of that. It shares tidbits of wisdom from a wide spectrum of leaders and spiritual seekers that Oprah has interviewed, along with a lot of life wisdom from the queen herself.
What I loved about the book is that is shares nuggets from her interviews in just a page or two each. It’s perfect for when I have just a couple minutes to read, and I often would open it on a weekend morning to read while enjoying breakfast.
I also want to note that this is a not a book about religion, but more just about the human spirit. Oprah and the thought leaders featured in the book pose interesting food for thought about life, regardless of what you believe or don’t believe.
Since I enjoyed the book so much and think that its contents are widely applicable to just about everyone, today I thought it’d be fun to share some of my favorite words from it. Here are 10 of my favorite quotes from The Wisdom of Sundays!
1.) Oprah’s take on energy:
2.) On what it means to be awakened:
3.) Lovely words from the wonderful Malala (If you aren’t familiar with her story, I highly suggest checking the documentary about her titled He Called Me Malala):
4.) On mercy:
5.) On leading your life through intention:
6.) Some perspective on what it means to sin:
7.) On the practice of mindfulness:
8.) Maya Angelou on the constant presence of good in the world: 
9.) Oprah on gratitude & the law of attraction:
10.) On the ultimate question in life:
Tell me… What’s the best book you’ve read recently? Did any of these quotes give you ‘aha moments’ as Oprah calls them?
(Please don’t say you never read!)
I’ve always loved the Oprah quotes. Wise woman. I have to go back and look at the ones I’ve saved on Pinterest. Have a great weekend
So many great quotes featured here! I really like the one about sin and how it’s really about when you have your loves out of order. Makes a lot of sense to me.
Oprah has always been a hero to me. She’s like a yoda or something!
Have you seen Malala on Letterman’s new show? It was a great interview. She has such a great spirit.
I finally read The Alchemist last months and LOVED it. I don’t know how I’d missed it!
Wonderful quotes, Nicole…especially that one on gratitude! Thanks for sharing. I’m surprised that nearly a quarter of Americans haven’t read a book in the last year though. I love reading, although to be fair I didn’t read much for the first year or two after Robbie was born. As soon as I sat down to even think about reading, I’d fall asleep! 🙂 But now I’ve always got a book with me. I have a trip today, and I’m a little bit excited to get on the plane with my book as it means a couple hours of undistracted reading time! Haha!
I never get tired of reading white oleander!