As a hoarder of great quotes—quotes that strike us to the core with pithy life lessons—I owe a great debt of gratitude to Joseph Campbell.

In honour of his birthday, here’s just a small selection of his powerful insights:

“Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.”

“The way to find out about happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy—not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what is called following your bliss.”

“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”

“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.”

“When you follow your bliss… doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else.”

“The adventure of the hero is the adventure of being alive.”

Happy birthday Mr Campbell. Thank you for the wisdom.

Relephant Reads:

Joseph Campbell’s Definition of a Hero

Creating a Life Purpose Statement

Author: Hilda Carroll

Editor: Emily Bartran 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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