Quotes

I have a book that I have been flipping through.  It is called “Quotable Quotes.”  I am liking some of the things I am reading.
I must admit sometimes I will quote quotes with a slight variation.  My thinking is just because something is a quote or a well-used phrase, does not mean it is right to me. 
I have used quotes and they are rightly coming back to be used against me. I often say “there’s nothing like a good joke, and that’s nothing like a good joke.”  Something else I often say that I have actually heard no one else say is “if I knew what my blind spot was, it wouldn’t be a blind spot.”  The other thing I sometimes say that I have heard no where else is, “when iron sharpens iron there are sparks.”  That is from “as iron sharpens iron so a man sharpens the countenance of a friend.”
I am actually looking at quotes in the book on friendship.   Something said that rings true with me is a quote by Harry Emerson Fosdick, “no man is the whole of himself, his friends are the rest of him.”  I am not sure about the way it is put, but it is something I very much hold to.  That is, I need others.  Bit like the quote, “no man is an island.”  My part may be infinitesimal as another’s on me may be, yet I know in coping I have a multitude of influences I take on board.
That reminds me of something else I saw yesterday.  It was commenting how many think “what is the use as what I have is like only a drop in the ocean.”  It had me think, but the ocean is made up of many drops.  So I would say every voice matters.  Some are to be embraced, while others are to be rejected.  Whatever the case though, when handled right, whatever comes my way will make me a stronger person.
Another one I like is by Charles L. Allen. “You can make more friends in a month by being interested in them than in ten years by trying to get them interested in you.”  I have found that.  Most want a listening ear.  They want to be heard.  It seems being heard is something that does not occur as often as it could.  It seems the one who shouts the loudest today is often heard and acted upon, but what is proposed is often not in the best interests of many.
When it comes to friendships, I have a saying that is close to me. I have no idea who said it first but it sure was not me. “a friend is someone who, when you make a mistake, does not think you have done a permanent job.”
I need those sorts.