Catalyst Castle

This regular column in my blog called "Words to Live By" is to share words of wisdom from various sources that have significant meaning to me. Sometimes it will be serious, and sometimes humorous. This time I wanted to share a few quotes I like from well-known novelists. These quotes are about growing up.

“To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence….When I was ten, I read fairytales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

-C.S Lewis

I liked this quote as soon as I read it. It summarizes so well what I’ve observed about adolescents who shun so-called “childish things” in order to appear more grown up. In the process they rob themselves of a lot of fun. I think that truly mature people should not be afraid to look a little silly now and then.

“I'm not young enough to know everything.”

“When you are older you will know that life is a long lesson in humility.”

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.”

-Sir James Matthew Barrie

The three quotes above by J. M. Barrie all reflect on a similar idea. When we are young we are full of self-confidence and great expectations. As we mature we are continually humbled and obtain a more realistic, less self-centered view of life. Personally, I’ve found that while this can be at first disappointing and frustrating, ultimately I am happier for having come to these realizations myself. Life makes a lot more sense when you abandon the childish notion that the universe should revolve around you.

Do you have any thoughts on the quotes above? Are there any quotes from famous people that you’ve enjoyed? Please share by commenting below!