for many, many years, my aunt has been sending me the calendar of the german youth hostel association. for every two weeks, it has a little saying as well as a beautiful photograph (come to think of it, that’s where my love for wordless wednesdays may come from). the photograph can be separated from the saying through perforation, and then the photograph serves as a postcard. my house is littered with postcards and little 1×5 cards with the sayings. maybe i should start throwing them out … but not before i translate and share some of the words with you! below are a few, written by people that you may or may not know, so i’ve added links.
how bald and miserable many a piece of land would look were it not for the weeds growing on it
wilhelm raabe
i can tell you, my friend, who to believe: believe real life; it is a better teacher than speechmakers and books
wilhelm busch
work as if you could live forever; live as if you were to die any day
giovanni don bosco
nobody has ever learned to love the truth by being beaten for telling a lie
ellen key
the thrill of the forbidden can only be tasted by going after it immediately. tomorrow it might already be allowed
jean genet