Just watching my most FAVOURITE movie of all time right now and felt compelled to post my most FAVOURITE quote from the script:

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is full of passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering…those are noble pursuits necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love...these are what we stay alive for."
~Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams) in Dead Poets Society

And while I'm at it, just HAVE to add this great one from the ending of another equally inspiring film in the same tradition, Mona Lisa Smile:

"'But to change for others is to lie to yourself'". She lived by her own definition and would not compromise that....[She was] an extraodinary woman who lived by example and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes. By the time you read this, she will be sailing for Europe where I know she will find new walls to break down and find new ideas to replace them with. I've heard her called a quitter for leaving, an aimless wanderer. But not all who wander are aimless, especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image".

And a few others to stir the soul and challenge us to truly LIVE:

“I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.”
~Calvin and Hobbes, There’s Treasure Everywhere

“Always remember that whether you are alive or dead matters nothing. What matters is what you live for and what you are prepared to die for.”
~Anthony Bloom quoting his father

And finally, from one of the most piercing novels I have ever read, A Prayer for Owen Meany (by John Irving) in which all of Owen's dialogue is always in capitals:

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU LEARNED IT [referring to John's love of reading that he claimed he learned from Owen]--IT'S A GIFT. IF YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT IT--IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY OF LIFE YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COURAGE TO LIVE IT."

Carpe Diem toujours!