Helen Keller Quotes

It is a mistake always to contemplate the good and ignore the evil, because by making people neglectful it lets in disaster.
There is a dangerous optimism of ignorance and indifference. ~ Helen Keller

People often ... have no idea how fair the flower is to the touch, nor do they appreciate its fragrance, which is the soul of the flower. ~ Helen Keller

Life is to be lived as a magnificent adventure, or not at all. ~ Helen Keller

Not the senses I have but what I do with them is my kingdom. ~ Helen Keller

What would be worse than being born blind? She replied, To have sight without vision. ~ Helen Keller

It is not possible for civilization to flow backwards while there is youth in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance it allotted length. ~ Helen Keller

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face. ~ Helen Keller

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved. HELEN KELLER ~ Dave Ramsey

He who marries the spirit of the age soon becomes a widower. ~ Helen Keller

The true task is to unite and organize all workers ... and it is the workers themselves who must secure freedom for themselves ... ~ Helen Keller

The silent worker is imagination which decrees reality out of chaos. ~ Helen Keller

While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done. ~ Helen Keller

Now I feel as if I should succeed in doing something in mathematics, although I cannot see why it is so very important ... The knowledge doesn't make life any sweeter or happier, does it? ~ Helen Keller

No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right. ~ Helen Keller

I am no worshiper of cloth of any color, but I love the red flag and what it symbolizes to me and other Socialists. I have a red flag hanging in my study, and if I could I should gladly march with it past the office of the Times and let all the reporters and photographers make the most of the spectacle. ~ Helen Keller

Helen Keller was blind and deaf when she graduated from college with honors. So what's your problem? ~ Charles F. Stanley

It is beyond a doubt that everyone should have time for some special delight, if only five minutes each day to seek out a lovely flower or cloud or star, or learn a verse to brighten another's dull task. What is the use of such terrible diligence as many tire themselves out with, if they always postpone their exchanges of smiles with Beauty and Joy to cling to irksome duties and relations? ~ Helen Keller

The best educated human being is the one who understands most about the life in which he is placed. ~ Helen Keller

Deep, solemn optimism, it seems to me, should spring from this firm belief in the presence of God in the individual; not a remote, unapproachable governor of the universe, but a God who is very near every one of us, who is present not only in earth, sea and sky, but also in every pure and noble impulse of our hearts. ~ Helen Keller

Smell is a fallen angel. ~ Helen Keller

The civilization of a state should be measured by the amount of suffering it prevents and the degree of happiness it makes possible for its citizens. ~ Helen Keller

My life has been happy because I have had wonderful friends and plenty of interesting work to do, ~ Helen Keller

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller

It was my teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact
which made the first years of my education so beautiful. It was
because she seized the right moment to impart knowledge that made
it so pleasant and acceptable to me. She realized that a child's
mind is like a shallow brook which ripples and dances merrily
over the stony course of its education and reflects here a
flower, there a bush, yonder a fleecy cloud; and she attempted to
guide my mind on its way, knowing that like a brook it should be
fed by mountain streams and hidden springs, until it broadened
out into a deep river, capable of reflecting in its placid
surface, billowy hills, the luminous shadows of trees and the
blue heavens, as well as the sweet face of a little flower.
Any teacher can take a child to the classroom, but not every
teacher can make him learn. He will not work joyously unless he
feels that liberty is his, whether he is busy or at rest; he must
feel the flush of victory and the heart-sinking of disappointment
before he takes with a will the tasks distasteful to him and
resolves to dance his way bravely through a dull routine of
textbooks.
My teacher is so near to me that I scarcely think of myself apart
from her. How much of my delight in all beautiful things is
innate, and how much is due to her influence, I can never tell. I
feel that her being is inseparab ~ Helen Keller

The best things in life are unseen, thats why we close our eyes when we kiss, cry, and dream ~ Helen Keller

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. ~ Helen Keller

The joy of surmounting obstacles that once seemed unremovable and pushing the frontier of accomplishment further-what other joy is there like it? ~ Helen Keller

Every child has a right to be well-born, well-nurtured and well-taught, and only the freedom of woman can guarantee him this right. ~ Helen Keller

I am not a perfect being ... I have more faults than I know what to do with. I have a naughty temper. I am stubborn, impatient of hindrances and of stupidity. I have not in the truest sense a Christian spirit. I am naturally a fighter. I am lazy. I put off till tomorrow what I might better do today. I do not feel that I have been compensated for the two senses I lack. I have worked hard for all the senses I have got, and always I beg for more. ~ Helen Keller

Blindness separates people from things;
deafness separates people from people. ~ Helen Keller

What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, For all that we love deeply becomes a part of us. ~ Helen Keller

World peace will never come until the passion of supremacy is combated. ~ Helen Keller

It annoys the hell out of me when people say, This is the kitchen, and this is the bathroom. What am I, Helen Keller? I mean, it's pretty obvious when you're in a kitchen and when you're not. ~ A.M. Homes

Smells are the fallen angels of the senses. ~ Helen Keller

I thank God for my handicaps. For through them, I have found myself, my work and my God. ~ Helen Keller

Gullibility is the key to all adventures. The greenhorn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he who gets the most out of life. ~ Helen Keller

Ruth is so loyal and gentle-hearted, we cannot help loving her, as she stands with the reapers amid the waving corn. Her beautiful, unselfish spirit shines out like a bright star in the night of a dark and cruel age. Love like Ruth's, love which can rise above conflicting creeds and deep-seated racial prejudices, is hard to find in all the world. ~ Helen Keller

No nation is wise enough to rule another. ~ Helen Keller

No smile is as beautiful as the one that struggles through tears. ~ Helen Keller

I wonder what becomes of lost opportunities? Perhaps our guardian angel gathers them up as we drop them, and will give them back to us in the beautiful sometime when we have grown wiser, and learned how to use them rightly. ~ Helen Keller

Even if you have a problem, you don't need to be one. ~ Helen Keller

When one comes to think of it, there are no such things as divine, immutable, or inalienable rights. Rights are things we get when we are strong enough to make good our claim on them. ~ Helen Keller

Indeed, everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom had a part in my education
noisy-throated frogs, katydids and crickets held in my hand until, forgetting their embarrassment, they trilled their reedy note, little downy chickens and wildflowers, the dogwood blossoms, meadow-violets and budding fruit trees. I felt the bursting cotton-bolls and fingered their soft fiber and fuzzy seeds; I felt the low soughing of the wind through the cornstalks, the silky rustling of the long leaves, and the indignant snort of my pony ... ~ Helen Keller

A bend in the road is not the end of the road ... Unless you fail to make the turn. ~ Helen Keller

Once, when I was puzzled to know why there were so many religions, he said: "There is one universal religion, Helen- the religion of love. Love your heavenly father with your whole heart and soul, love every child of God as much as you ever can, and remember that the possibilities of good are greater than the possibilities of evil; and you have the key to heaven." And his life was a happy illustration of this great truth. In this noble soul love and widest knowledge were blended with faith that had become insight. He saw God in all that liberates and lifts, in all that humbles, sweetens and consoles. ~ Helen Keller

The test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life. If it be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards it, then it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy. ~ Helen Keller

The bible gives me a deep comforting sense that (things seen are temporal,and things unseen are eternal. ~ Helen Keller

The best things in life are not seen or heard ... but felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller

Look the world straight in the eye. ~ Helen Keller

I learned that it is possible for us to create light, sound and order within us no matter what calamity befall us in the outer world. ~ Helen Keller

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. ~ Helen Keller

No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. ~ Helen Keller

To be banished from Rome is but to live outside of Rome. ~ Helen Keller

I grow more and more suspicious of the political powers that take men away from their work and set them shooting one another. ~ Helen Keller

The human being is born with an incurable capacity for making the best of things. ~ Helen Keller

No matter how old you are now. You are never too young or too old for success or going after what you want. Here's a short list of people who accomplished great things at different ages
1) Helen Keller, at the age of 19 months, became deaf and blind. But that didn't stop her. She was the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
2) Mozart was already competent on keyboard and violin; he composed from the age of 5.
3) Shirley Temple was 6 when she became a movie star on "Bright Eyes."
4) Anne Frank was 12 when she wrote the diary of Anne Frank.
5) Magnus Carlsen became a chess Grandmaster at the age of 13.
6) Nadia Comăneci was a gymnast from Romania that scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals at the Olympics at age 14.
7) Tenzin Gyatso was formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama in November 1950, at the age of 15.
8) Pele, a soccer superstar, was 17 years old when he won the world cup in 1958 with Brazil.
9) Elvis was a superstar by age 19.
10) John Lennon was 20 years and Paul Mcartney was 18 when the Beatles had their first concert in 1961.
11) Jesse Owens was 22 when he won 4 gold medals in Berlin 1936.
12) Beethoven was a piano virtuoso by age 23
13) Issac Newton wrote Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica at age 24
14) Roger Bannister was 25 when he broke the 4 minute mile record
15) Albert Einstein was 26 when he wrote the theory of relativity
16) ~ Pablo

I have found out that though the ways in which I can make myself useful are few, yet the work open to me is endless. ~ Helen Keller

I had once believed that we were all masters of our fate
that we could mold our lives into any form we pleased ... I had overcome deafness and blindness sufficiently to be happy, and I supposed that anyone could come out victorious if he threw himself valiantly into life's struggle. But as I went more and more about the country I learned that I had spoken with assurance on a subject I knew little about ... I learned that the power to rise in the world is not within the reach of everyone. ~ Helen Keller

A blanket could be used to make people smile. But the blanket won't make just anyone smile - it will make people with no mouths smile. I plan on showing a live audience how it works at the next Helen Keller Convention. ~ Jarod Kintz

So long as I confine my activities to social service and the blind, they compliment me extravagantly, calling me 'arch priestess of the sightless,' 'wonder woman,' and a 'modern miracle.' But when it comes to a discussion of poverty, and I maintain that it is the result of wrong economics - that the industrial system under which we live is at the root of much of the physical deafness and blindness in the world - that is a different matter! It is laudable to give aid to the handicapped. Superficial charities make smooth the way of the prosperous; but to advocate that all human beings should have leisure and comfort, the decencies and refinements of life, is a Utopian dream, and one who seriously contemplates its realization indeed must be deaf, dumb, and blind. ~ Helen Keller

Each day comes to me with both hands full of possibilities. ~ Helen Keller

That the sky is brighter than the earth means little unless the earth itself is appreciated and enjoyed. Its beauty loved gives the right to aspire to the radiance of the sunrise and sunset. ~ Helen Keller

Prayer: Father God, I can't thank You enough for all that You have given me. I have so much to be thankful for. My barns are overflowing, and grain is spilling out over the top. Thank You. Thank You. Amen. Action: Take a risk and say "Thank You" in God's presence. Today's Wisdom: 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. - HELEN KELLER ~ Emilie Barnes

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content ~ Helen Keller

The tragic side of many architectural enterprises is that they destroy natural beauties which are a priceless possession and cannot be replaced. ~ Helen Keller

We betray ourselves into smallness when we think the little choices of each day are trivial. ~ Helen Keller

This world is so full of care and sorrow that it is a gracious debt we owe to one another to discover the bright crystals of delight hidden in somber circumstances and irksome tasks. ~ Helen Keller

Oh, you think the darkness is your ally, but you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. ~ Helen Keller

The few who profit from the labor of the masses want to organize the workers into an army which will protect the interests of the capitalists. ~ Helen Keller

What could be worse than being born without sight? Being born with sight and no vision. ~ Helen Keller

I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid upon a basis of ... individualism, conquest and exploitation ... A social order such as this, built upon such wrong and basic principles, is bound to retard the development of all. The output of a cotton mill or a coal mine is considered of greater importance than the production of healthy, happy-hearted and free human beings. We, the people, are not free. Our democracy is but a name. ~ Helen Keller

FOR some inexplicable reason the sense of smell does not hold the high position it deserves among its sisters. There is something of the fallen angel about it. When it woos us with woodland scents and beguiles us with the fragrance of lovely gardens, it is admitted frankly to our discourse. But when it gives us warning of something noxious in our vicinity, it is treated as if the demon had got the upper hand of the angel, and is relegated to outer darkness, punished for its faithful service. ~ Helen Keller

Christmas Day is the festival of optimism. ~ Helen Keller

Even more amazing than the wonders of Nature are the powers of the spirit. ~ Helen Keller

I believe that God is in me as the sun is in the colour and fragrance of a flower - the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence. ~ Helen Keller

The test of a democracy is not the magnificence of buildings or the speed of automobiles or the efficiency of air transportation, but rather the care given to the welfare of all the people. ~ Helen Keller

My fingers are tickled to delight by the soft ripple of a baby's laugh ... ~ Helen Keller

True, they were broken and stammering syllables; but they were human speech. My soul, conscious of new strength, came out of bondage, and was reaching through those broken symbols of speech to all knowledge and all faith. ~ Helen Keller

We the living, should not think of the dead as lonely because if they could speak to us, they would say: "Do not weep for me, earth was not my true country, I was an alien there: I am at Home where everyone comes." ~ Helen Keller

Only in quietness do we possess our own minds and discover the resources of the Inner Life. ~ Helen Keller

The country is governed for the richest, for the corporations, the bankers, the land speculators, and for the exploiters of labor. ~ Helen Keller

There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark. ~ Helen Keller

Nunca se debe gatear, cuando se tiene el impulso de volar (Never crawl when the impulse is to fly) ~ Helen Keller

I believe in the immortality of the soul because I have within me immortal longings. ~ Helen Keller

Where once stood the steadfast pines, great, beautiful, sweet, my hand touched raw, moist stumps. All about lay broken branches, like the antlers of stricken deer. The fragrant, piled-up sawdust swirled and tumbled about me. An unreasoning resentment flashed through me at the ruthless destruction of the beauty that I love. ~ Helen Keller

The richness of the human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. ~ Helen Keller

One's life story cannot be told with complete veracity. A true autobiography would have to be written in states of mind, emotions, heartbeats, smiles and tears; not in months and years, or physical events. Life is marked off on the soul by feelings, not by dates ... ~ Helen Keller

Virgil is serene and lovely like a marble Apollo in the moonlight; Homer is a beautiful, animated youth in the full sunlight with the wind in his hair. ~ Helen Keller

I, who cannot see, find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough shaggy bark of a pine ... Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action which fills the world is taken for granted ... It is a great pity that, in the world of light, the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life. ~ Helen Keller

I hear what you say in what you don't say, you see, because I'm a Helen Keller kind of communicator. Love is just as visible as invisible. ~ Jarod Kintz

The few own the many because they possess the means of livelihood of all ... The country is governed for the richest, for the corporations, the bankers, the land speculators, and for the exploiters of labor. The majority of mankind are working people. So long as their fair demands - the ownership and control of their livelihoods - are set at naught, we can have neither men's rights nor women's rights. The majority of mankind is ground down by industrial oppression in order that the small remnant may live in ease. ~ Helen Keller

Happiness is like the mountain summit. It is sometimes hidden by clouds, but we know it is there. ~ Helen Keller

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away. ~ Helen Keller

Jesus, Neal, watching you eat with a spork is like seeing Helen Keller at a ladies' afternoon tea. ~ Douglas Coupland

How futile are words in the ears of those who mourn. ~ Helen Keller

Serious harm, I am afraid, has been wrought to our generation by fostering the idea that they would live secure in a permanent order of things. ~ Helen Keller

It is with a kind of fear that I begin to write the history of my life. ~ Helen Keller

My favorite quote: "Life's a daring adventure, or nothing." - Helen Keller, who lived life to the fullest, despite the most challenging of handicaps. ~ Helen Keller

Usually they are quick to discover that I cannot see or hear ... It is not training but love which impels them to break their silence about me with the thud of a tail rippling against my chair on gambols round the study, or news conveyed by expressive ear, nose, and paw. Often I yearn to give them speech, their motions are so eloquent with things they cannot say. ~ Helen Keller

He makes you feel that if you only had a little more time, you, too, might be an inventor. ~ Helen Keller