Are You Lonely Tonight and other Words of Wisdom

“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.” “From the time I was a kid, I always knew something was going to happen to me. Didn't know exactly what.” “The image is one thing and the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to an image, put it that way.”

These are all great quotes from Elvis, who also said: “I'm not trying to be sexy. It's just my way of expressing myself when I move around!” If you’ve seen Elvis either when he was living; or now in the movies he left us, you know what that quote meant.

I was surprised finding other quotes reflecting Elvis’thoughts and life that held real wisdom. When he said “Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine”,he was certainly speaking about his fast rise to fame. And when he said “I'm trying to keep a level head. You have to be careful out in the world. It's so easy to get turned” we can only imagine what trials, tempations, and challenges he was continually facing. Whether we are living in a similar situation as his or not, this is good advice!

The things we all say are based on our thoughts and experiences. When they are profound, funny or unusual, they touch others in a way that we remember them. Then, later some of us, such as myself, try to find the real meaning in them and use them to offer help and hope in our own lives and share with others to offer the same for them. You don’t have to be “famous” by the way, to have some great quotes. I’m sure you remember things that your parents told you as you were growing up, those by a teacher, or anyone else who helped shape your life. I would suggest that you write them down as you remember them and read them from time to time. Also, listen to yourself. You may be inspired with something worth quoting; write it down!

“Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.” After reading that quote by Elvis, I’m reminded of what some used to say in the seventies: “That’s heavy, man!” Let’s think a bit about this, we’ve all had some type of adversity at some time and yes, it was hard. But here Elvis is telling us that prosperity can be harder to stand than adversity! I don’t think he is telling us to fear success or to not seek prosperity, but that we must manage it wisely.

Yes, even the man who was shown only from the waist up when performing on Ed Sullivan’s TV show because his gyrating legs were too suggestive, can offer us words of wisdom for living. Just like Elvis Presley, we too can learn from life and then offer words of wisdom for others like this one: “Whatever I will become will be what God has chosen for me.”