CURATED COLLECTION

Staying Optimistic

Optimism is not stupidity — it is the disciplined choice to believe that things can be made better.

68 quotes found

“
Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

—C.S. LewisWriter & Theologian

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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There is nothing like a dream to create the future.

—Victor HugoPoet, Novelist & Dramatist

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.

—Rainer Maria RilkePoet

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

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Humanity is a multi‑planet species. That’s the future I want to believe in.

—Elon MuskEntrepreneur & Engineer

Digital Age ERA • North America

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The world is beautiful, and I am glad I was born.

—Jaroslav SeifertPoet & Author

Late Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

—Oscar WildePlaywright & Poet

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

—Percy Bysshe ShelleyPoet & Thinker

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.

—Victor HugoPoet, Novelist & Dramatist

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.

—Rabindranath TagorePoet, Philosopher & Artist

Early Modern ERA • South Asia

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In the moon's light, a snail is dreaming of Fuji.

—Yosa BusonPoet & Painter

Enlightenment ERA • East Asia

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Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

—Rabindranath TagorePoet, Philosopher & Artist

Industrial Age ERA • South Asia

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Happiness is a bird that flies too high for human hands.

—Dulce María LoynazPoet & Novelist

Post-War ERA • Caribbean

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Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.

—Hans Christian AndersenAuthor & Poet

Industrial Age ERA • Nordic

“
They can cut all the flowers, but they cannot keep spring from coming.

—Pablo NerudaPoet & Diplomat

Post-War ERA • Latin America

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I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.

—Thomas JeffersonPresident

Industrial Age ERA • North America

“
Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you've got to let it grow.

—John LennonMusician & Activist

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

—Paulo CoelhoNovelist

Late Modern ERA • Latin America

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Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.

—Roald DahlNovelist

Late Modern ERA • Western Europe

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This is the best of all possible worlds.

—Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizPolymath

Enlightenment ERA • Western Europe

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Children are the inverse of history. They're the future.

—Valeria LuiselliAuthor & Essayist

Digital Age ERA • Latin America

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