You Can Quote Me On That

I’ve been out for a run this evening and I’ll be honest – I’m chafed. It happens pretty much every time I go out either because I’m still too fat or because of my running style. I have the ancestral genes of  men and women who toiled on the land as dairy farmers; that’s a whole lot of full cream. While I was in Japan I went to the gym with a friend of mine who, if I had to draw a comparison, I would say was a fair resemblance of Jason Statham. He once told me that I had “The build of a hiker”. That’s the nicest way I’ve ever heard someone tell me I was fat. What does that have to do with this post you ask? Not much – and yet, a lot.

Earlier this afternoon I decided to update some of my Facebook information and there’s a section that I’ve purposely avoided up until today: the Quotations section.

As an aspiring writer, you’d think that quotes would be my proverbial bread and butter. Insightful, motivational, reassuring or just humorous pick-me-ups cunningly injected into conversations or situations to demonstrate the gamut of my influences. Unfortunately I don’t work like that. I’m not dissing quotes mind you; they can be exceptionally useful in the right circumstances. I just can never recall any off the top of my head if asked.

Today was a rough day for me emotionally, I’ll leave it at that. I took the opportunity to peruse a number of quotations pages on the web to find a few that gave a bit more of an insight into my approach to life and I was reasonably successful. Then I hit the streets for a run to help me review what was going on in my head and get some much-needed exercise. Win-win!

I ran the streets of my ‘burb and mulled away, every so often slipping out of the world of traffic and the pain of the blister on my instep as I focussed more on the idea of quoting others and writing in general. As I mentioned before I personally have nothing against quotes. However, I would never use them myself to try to inspire or reassure. Even to just let someone know what they mean to me is something I take very personally. I would rather struggle and stutter my way through a heartfelt, sincere dialogue than borrow words that may say what I want to say that little bit better.

I got lost as I turned for home. Being one to take heart in the adventure, I didn’t mind in the least. I headed up hills and through streets that were completely unfamiliar to me and as night fell I thought about the various times in my life where I’ve given or received kind or wise words. None of them have ever been quotes.

Given that I hope one day to be quoted myself; I would certainly never say that quotations are a waste of time. Far from it. To me; they encapsulate a moment in time that is worthy of immortalizing. Words of renown, like all pieces of art, they deserve a place in history. To reflect the learnings or sheer wisdom of others and hopefully sow the seeds of lessons learned in generations to come. Or just to make someone laugh for a while – which is just as important.

So I’ve added some quotes to my Facebook page and feel better about everything. Just don’t ask me to repeat them – I’ve forgotten most of them already.