“What is life, when wanting love? Night without a morning; Love’s the cloudless summer sun, Nature gay adorning.”

I pick my favourite quotations and store them in my mind as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence.

O Scotia! my dear, my native soil! For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent

O, wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An’ foolish notion.

The best laid plans take 40 years to complete.

I have a hundred times wished that one could resign life as an officer resigns a commission.

The heart that is generous and kind most resembles God.

O Life! thou art a galling load, Along a rough, a weary road, To wretches such as I!

Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn!

Ye Hypocrites, are these your pranks To murder men and gie God thanks Desist for shame, proceed no further God won’t accept your thanks for murder.

A women can make an average man great, and a great man average.

My heart ‘s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart ‘s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer.

Look abroad through Nature’s range, Nature’s mighty law is change.

But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flower, it’s bloom is shed; Or, like the snow-fall in the river, A moment white, then melts forever.

But to see her was to love her, Love but her, and love forever. Had we never lou’d sae kindly, Had we never lou’d sae blindly, Never met – or never parted – We had ne’er been broken hearted.

Oh would some power the gift give us, to see ourselves as others see us!

Some wee short hour ayont the twal.

If you admire greatness in another human being, it is your own greatness you are seeing.

So what if you end up buying a size 6 instead of a 4? You can always cut out the label at home, and you’ll pretty soon forget whatever that number was because you’ll be too busy admiring how fantastic you look.

Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire.

The sun touched your skin with innocent delicacy as if you were a work of out that was made to be admired deeply.

Golden bracelets, diamonds and rare blue pearls. New gadgets and sparkling shoes, Things I do not own left languishing in the wooden drawer I do not have. I am too busy walking in parks admiring the city from afar and mesmerising dancing trees.

I used to admire people who spoke their mind. Now I admire people who speak their heart.

There are so many people with great work ethics that I’ve been around. I try and take the best qualities from the people I admire and apply it to my own self.

I see a pair of shoes I adore, and it doesn’t matter if they have them in my size. I buy them anyway.