Helen Keller

Tolerance is the first principle of community;
it is the spirit which conserves the best that all men think.
- Helen Keller

I do not want the peace that passeth understanding.
I want the understanding which bringeth peace.
- Helen Keller

The test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life.
If it be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards it,
then it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy.
- Helen Keller

Although the world is full of suffering,
it is full also of the overcoming of it.
My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil,
but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good
and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good,
that it may prevail.
- Helen Keller

If I am happy in spite of my deprivations,
if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith,
so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life.
If, in short, I am an optimist,
my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.
- Helen Keller

Helen Keller (1880-1968) overcame being both deaf and blind to become a famous author, lecturer, and activist for women's suffrage, workers' rights, and ending war.

Further reading: How to Think Positive

How to Choose Your Life Purpose

The Secret of Happiness

Helen Keller Quotes

Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes

Gandhi Quotes

Joseph Addison Quotes