Find answers to questions like: where do we come from? Where are we going? In other words, solving the great enigma of the meaning of life is something that has kept philosophers and thinkers busy throughout history. It is not for less, it is a question that worries even the most modern. We are not here to tell you that life is this or that, that each one draw their own conclusions, we are going to do something even more interesting: a tour of the best and most famous philosophical phrases of great thinkers who speak of life, the passage of time and the mystery that surrounds it. You sure can’t stop thinking about it!
Writers, philosophers, artists, poets… All these great thinkers of all times had their way of seeing things, thoughts and ideas so profound that they have endured to this day. What would Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde or Stephen Hawking say if we asked them about life? Surely they would answer us with some of the following philosophical phrases.
Philosophical phrases about life to think and reflect
We are going to start by looking at a few philosophical that talk about the meaning of life in general. Read each of them as many times as necessary until you really understand what they mean. It sure helps you see the universe and everything in it in a totally different way.
1Life would be tragic if it wasn’t funny
Stephen Hawking is the author of this phrase, and it is that the scientist, despite his degenerative disease, always had a very special way of seeing life. They rightly say that things always have their good side, or at least a not so bad side. What do you think?
2The least frequent thing in this world is living. Most people exist, that’s all
Oscar Wilde thought that living for the sake of living is really surviving. To change this we have to act, so instead of just existing we will also live. Without a doubt, a way of seeing life that is well worth taking into account, don’t you think?
3Turn your wounds around and exchange them for wisdom
Oprah Winfrey comes to say with this phrase that even from the deepest wounds there is something to learn, perhaps a lesson that will help us to be stronger.
4When it’s clear that goals can’t be achieved, don’t adjust the goals, adjust your steps
Confucius. Perhaps it is not an objective that has to be written again, but rather the steps that we must take to achieve it. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?
5The past has no power over the present moment
Eckhart Tolle. The past is important but it cannot condition the present, our sights must be in the here and now.
6It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide. Or what is the same defend your ideals and do what you like no matter how much the rest insist on guiding you in another direction.
7Good friends, good books and a clear conscience, this is the ideal life.
Mark Twain had vision that is certainly worth following. Life is nothing without the things that make it special.
Philosophical phrases that talk about happiness in life
Is it possible to be happy? Can you achieve what you call happiness and not let it go for the world? The most pessimistic will tell you that happiness is overrated, that to be well there is no more eating, working and sleeping 8 hours. The great thinkers of all time do not think like that at all. Happiness is in every corner, you just have to know how to see it!
8Happiness is the certainty of not feeling lost
Jorge Bucky explains with these simple words that happiness is everything and that when we have reached it, needs are no longer called needs. That is why he places so much emphasis on us changing the big goals for daily objectives that, after all, are the ones that move our entire world.
9If you’re at a dead end, don’t be silly… Leave the way you came
This is another of Jorge Bucky’s best-known phrases, it seems like a joke but it really means that when you see that all is lost, all you have to do is retrace your steps to start over. Surely in your new path you will come across happiness and you will not let it escape.
10Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of the imagination
And since imagination is a powerful weapon, we only have to use it to be happy. Do you also agree with the words of Immanuel Kant?
Eleven there is only one way to happiness and that is to stop worrying about things that are beyond the reach of your will.
Epithet phrase. Do you know how they say that the most significant philosophical phrases are the ones that when you read them you think you could have written them in your own handwriting? You will agree with us that this is one of those phrases, right?
12Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself
George Bernard Shaw. Only if we follow this advice can we fully find happiness.
13The only way out of the maze of suffering is to forgive
John Green emphasizes the certainty that in order to be fully happy and to be able to put aside what has hurt us, one must know how to forgive.
Phrases full of life to write on a piece of paper and leave on the nightstand
If you are one of those who do not go to bed without having learned one more thing, then write down the following sentences in a notebook and read one before going to sleep. You will see that your thoughts are filled with deep reflections.
14I can’t teach anyone anything. I can only make you think
Socrates, known for his Socratic method of teaching, was determined not to teach his pupils anything. His goal was for them to learn to think for themselves. That is to say, learning to learn and then letting everyone’s mind fly. A thought that we want to be part of, are you in?
Fifteen knowledge is power
Learning new things is the basis for being able to grow as people. Surely you have heard this phrase hundreds of times, because you must know that it is by Francis Bacon and that his goal is for people to be a little wiser every day.
16The heart has reasons that the reason ignores
How many verses have been written to talk about love, heart and reason? Blasé Pascal knows this well and that is why he wanted us to see that life is truly love in its purest state, the kind in which reason does not always have to take part.
17He who thinks big thoughts often makes big mistakes.
And what would we be without those great thoughts? A life in which we do not allow the best of ourselves to be seen, including mistakes, is a life that borders on emptiness. Martin Heidegger shows it to us with one of his best-known philosophical phrases.
18Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom
Continuing with the philosophical phrases that speak of life, we have to highlight this one from the thinker Aristotle. He comes to say that every man and every woman has the ultimate task of knowing himself; it is there that you can start walking the path of wisdom.
Phrases about the little things in life
To finish with the section of the best philosophical phrases that speak of life, we have the compilation of phrases that make us see that the little things in life are what give meaning to our entire world.
19Without music, life would be a mistake
What would our existence and our day to day be without music and all those wonderful notes that make us smile? They say that music heals the soul and rejuvenates the spirit for a reason. Friedrich Nietzsche knew it well and he explains it in this sentence.
Twenty To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.
Famous phrase by Joseph Chilton Pearce that makes us think of all the things we let go for fear of being wrong.
Twenty one you are never too old to set another goal or dream of a new dream.
These words of Aristotle serve on the passage of time and why we should never stop setting our goals and pursuing our dreams.
22Any fool can know. The key is to understand
Knowing by knowing NO, understanding and knowing yes. Albert Einstein did have philosophical phrases that are well worth thinking about.
23There is someone so intelligent that they learn from the experience of others
As much as we are absorbed in our things, we must not overlook the fact that intelligence is also learning from the experience and wisdom of others. Voltaire’s words that cannot fall on deaf ears.
24Knowledge begins in wonder
Socrates, with this, believed that life and all its little things are what make the world great and also believed that knowledge begins when something small catches our eye.
25There is no greater relief than starting to be what you are.
What do you feel comfortable after reading the phrase by Alejandro Jodorowsky? And there is nothing like being you and shouting it from the four winds.
26Believe that your life is worth living and that belief will help create the fact.
Can you think of anything better than living life starting by valuing the little things? William James also said that those details are what help to capture happiness.
27How wonderful it is that no one has to wait for a moment before starting to improve the world.
Este phrase from Anne Frank is still one of our favorites; surely it will also be one of your favorites from now on.
28You can’t find peace by avoiding life
Virginia Woolf. And there is no lives if we stop appreciating the little things that make our world turn in the right direction.
29I have nothing to do today but smile
Paul Simon. Smile every day, every second, and every minute and do it from the heart. Smile in front of your loved ones and in front of the mirror and tell yourself: today is going to be a great day!
