Maria Shriver > Quotes

“Having kids - the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings - is the biggest job anyone can embark on. As with any risk, you have to take a leap of faith and ask lots of wonderful people for their help and guidance. I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to parent.”
― Maria Shriver

“Having kids — the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings — is the biggest job anyone can embark on”
― Maria Shriver

“you are the leader you've been looking for”
― Maria Shriver

“Forgiveness is letting go of the need to feel like a victim. Work on it. You’ll lighten your load—the load of negativity you carry around.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“Your life is like a mosaic, a puzzle. You have to figure out where the pieces go and put them together for yourself.”
― Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out Into the Real World

“Comparing how you feel on the inside (bad) to the way someone else looks on the outside (great) is a losing proposition. It's an impossible standard.”
― Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out Into the Real World

“Listen: You can't short-circuit the learning process. It takes time to get to the top, and that's good-because by the time you get there, you'll have learned what you need to know in order to stay there.”
― Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out Into the Real World

“Let’s not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness.” —James Thurber”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“But I’ve learned that living in either the past or the future keeps me up in my head, out of reality, robbing me of the present.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is letting God talk to you.” —Yogi Bhajan”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.” —Pema Chödrön”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“I stressed out trying to figure out what I could say. I ate licorice. I stressed some more. I ate Dots. I stressed out even more-and wiped out a bag of Swedish Fish. And then I wrote.”
― Maria Shriver, Just Who Will You Be?

“It takes courage to care. It takes passion to stand up for someone or something you believe in and care about.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“Men are taught to view women as “less than.” Far too many aspects of manhood and masculinity are defined by devaluing women. Men are taught to have higher expectations of our sons and lower expectations of our daughters. That’s because the men before us taught us to minimize and trivialize the experience of women and girls—even the women and girls in our own lives. We pass that teaching on to our sons and other boys. I’m not saying this is true for every man, but I am saying that it happens far too often, with far too many of us.”
― Maria Shriver, The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink

“May today there be peace within May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you May you be content knowing that you are a child of God Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love It is there for each and every one of us. —Saint Teresa of Avila”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“Starting at the bottom is not about humiliation. It's about humility—a realistic assessment of where you are in the learning curve.”
― Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out Into the Real World

“FAILING IS A PART OF LEARNING.”
― Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out Into the Real World

“Peace within leads to peace in your home, your community, and your country. When I was growing up, my father never let us belong to the country club near our home because, the club didn’t accept African Americans or Jews. He told us we couldn’t belong to a place that didn’t accept everyone. That has stuck with me my entire life. America’s story has been a place where people felt they could come and find belonging and acceptance. I’m a descendant of immigrants, and my children’s father is a first-generation immigrant. We all want to belong. We all want to be accepted. Recognizing that we share this desire can help us see our shared humanity.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“As Steve Jobs pointed out, life can either be limiting, safe, and secure or it can be wide open, creative, and sometimes scary.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.” —Oprah Winfrey”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“In Philadelphia, the Pope told the story of the Pennsylvanian Saint Katharine Drexel, who had a private audience with Pope Leo XIII in 1887. She told him of the challenges faced by Native Americans and African Americans back home. She asked him to send Catholic missionaries to come help these people. The Pope asked her: “What about you? What are you going to do?” The question made her think about her own contribution to the Church, and she made a decision to change her life. She took her vows, founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and devoted her life to speaking out against racial injustice and helping and educating American Indians and African Americans. Saint Katharine Drexel was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. “What about you? What are you going to do?” The question goes deep. What can you and I do to make our communities better, more compassionate, kinder, and more caring? What can we each do to care for our common home?”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“If you’re a woman, never doubt that you belong at the table. Never doubt that you bring something to it. And never forget to save a seat for someone else.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“we should look at the things he can do ...not at what he can't do.”
― Maria Shriver, What's Wrong With Timmy?

“But are chocolates, roses, jewelry, and big fancy dinners what love is really about? Really? Those things can certainly be part of the equation, but the kind of love I think everyone needs is the love that’s already all around us. It’s love that is patient, kind, supportive, gentle, and accepting. It’s about caring, listening, and being present. It’s about forgiveness and understanding. It’s when someone brings you a cup of coffee or orders you an iced tea before you arrive, just because they know you like it. It’s your friend sending you an article or a poem she likes. Or someone calling just to check in on you. I’m not saying I don’t like flowers or beautiful dinners, because I do. But like my friend, I’ve often missed acknowledging and experiencing the gift of love that already surrounds me in my life. Yes, what the world needs now is more love. But what each of us also needs now is to see and experience the real hardworking love that’s already there for us in our lives every single day. We need to see it, feel it, and recognize it for what it is: real love in real life.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“In this day and age it's really stupid to be stupid about financial matters. It doesn't do you any good to make money if you don't know what to do with it other than spend it.”
― Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out Into the Real World

“So, if you’re feeling down, confused, or shaken, read the Prayer of Saint Francis. If you’re feeling elated, vindicated, or boastful, read the Prayer of Saint Francis. It’s withstood the test of time, because it works.”
― Maria Shriver, I've Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

“Perfectionism doesn’t make you feel perfect; it makes you feel inadequate.”
― Maria Shriver

“The Shriver Report reveals this quiet reality: The people who we expect to raise us, care for us, and work to support us are too often left unsupported and uncared for.”
― Maria Shriver, The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink