Words of Wisdom

The following list was collected through this Google Form. Portola residents are asked to contribute their life lessons, advice to advice to their younger selves, neighbors, or strangers. These represent the collective wisdom of the Portola.

 

  • Marry someone who is kind.

  • It takes everything.

  • Nature always wins.

  • Imagine loved ones dying and cherish them.

  • Be a friend to have a friend.

  • Work smart not hard.

  • Saudade é o preço que se paga por viver momentos inesquecíveis.

  • Não estacione sua alma em espaços onde não cabem os seus sonhos.

  • Self awareness infused with compassion leads to freedom.

  • Treat others how you want to be treated

  • Stupid should hurt.

  • All boats are safe in a harbor, but that’s not what boats are made for.

  • Tomorrow is promised to no one

  • Be grateful everyday for this moment is a Blessing

  • Always believe something wonderful is about to Happen!

  • Don’t worry what others are doing. Do you!

  • Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

  • Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.

  • Doing things cheaply is the most expensive way

  • Reduce, Reuse & Refuse plastic junk

  • In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.

  • You deserve happiness.

  • Be open to receiving joy and abundance from the universe.

  • 笑一笑，十年少。

    [A smile makes you 10 years younger]

  • Live for nothing, or die for something

  • The most important step is the next one.

  • See rejection as a redirection.

  • Collect moments, not things

  • Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

  • Tend the garden of your life with loving care.

  • Earth, sea and sky: treasure them every day.

  • Discover and learn something new each day.

  • It's not the destination; it's the journey

  • You're capable of more than you realize; take one more step.

  • Be humble; be grateful; be strong.

  • There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy.

  • Demand a life 5000 shades from ordinary.

  • Never let anyone dampen, dim, or diminish your light.

  • Freedom is not a state; it is an act.

  • Peace cannot exist where justice is not served.

  • Our flaws are who we really are -Cody Fry

  • Perfection is so quick to bore -Cody Fry

  • Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

  • No dejes para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy.

  • Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras

  • Caminante no hay canino, se have camino al andar

  • Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten

  • Learn to let go

  • Everything I have, I owe

  • Portola's Poppin'

  • Do the right thing

  • Have compassion for people

  • Have respect for people and they will respect you

  • Live in a peaceful environment

  • Haribol!

  • If you have a reservoir of knowledge, share it

  • Love is simple, don’t make it complicated

  • Life is like a river, everything flows downhill

  • Consistency is never underrated. Stay on the path to greatness

  • 努力面前

    [Work hard at the moment]

  • 脚踏实地，便会平步青云

    [Keep yourself grounded to slowly attain a higher level]

  • Real life is happiness.

  • Smile and the world smiles with you.

  • Happiness makes a good life, makes a good family

  • Live fearlessly

  • When someone tells or shows you their true colors, trust that!

  • There’s nothing more frightening than a poised person in a bad situation

  • Dance more

  • Assume good intent

  • You are who you’ve been waiting for!

  • Remember who you are … and who you represent

  • Take a breath

  • Simplify! Intensify!

  • Not everyone has to like you. (And you don’t have to like everyone.)

  • Be.

  • Treat other as you want to be treated.

  • What others think about you is none of your business.

  • Shower the people you love with love.

  • It’s ok to go through your emotions, they are not as big as they seem. Do it!

  • Transform!

  • Your thoughts are reality

  • Stop performing

  • If you can conceive it, you can achieve it

  • You are stronger than you feel in this moment

  • If it scares you, do it

  • Meeting neighbors makes a better Portola

  • Look, Listen: there's wisdom all around

  • Find Meaning

  • To see a World in a Grain of Sand and a Heaven in a Wild Flower

  • "Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today."

  • You can do it!

  • Inhale, exhale

  • As long as you're progressing

  • If you try to stop, just keep on going

  • Work smarter not harder

  • Always be thankful for those who have left yesterday. For they have contributed to who you are today.

  • Sometimes the best thing to do doesn’t always feel the best

  • It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop

  • Life is short, art is long

  • tú eres mi otro yo [you are my other me]

  • Where there's a will, there's a way

  • Look, listen, there's wisdom all around you

  • Family is everything

  • Caminante no hay canino, se have camino al andar

  • Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten

  • Release yourself from the outcome

  • Remember to give yourself a little slack

  • Self love: cause no one else would give u that love

  • Eat good, sleep well

  • Try try again, don’t give up

  • You will never be alone

  • Life blooms like a flower

  • You must do things you think you cannot do

  • Nothing is holding you back to do what you love

  • It is no sign of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

  • Live is too short to not enjoy it!

  • Family is everything

  • Keep your head up

  • Don't give up

  • Healing takes time

  • Help others and others will help you

  • Don't stop. Keep running after what you believe in

  • There are many fish in the pond, but it's harder to find a true friend

  • Todo en esta vida le llega a su tiempo.

  • Love isn't Love Until it's Given Away

  • Learn to be comfortable in your own skin.

  • Have A Good Time, While Ya Got Time

  • Always Love Yourself

  • It Is As It Should Be

  • People will help

  • Connection = Meaning

  • Beware of fast trains going to the wrong station!

  • Let everything happen to you, beauty and terror. Nothing last

  • be an antidote to injustice

  • Listen to the wisdom of your own heart

  • Your neighbor isn’t stuck up. Some are introverts and love our neighbors on the down low.

  • One who does harma, gets bad karma.

  • Love. ETAH.

  • Love and compassion is all it takes.

  • As the sun rises, you will rise with it.

  • Our voices rise together

  • Together we shall create

  • Learn and understand to free yourself from the known.

  • Reading is fundamental.

  • Heal your anger so it doesn't destroy your health.

  • Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.

  • You Are Exactly Where You Are Meant To Be

  • Balance is ongoing action, not a state of being

  • Do it right the first time.

  • Choose to be happy.

  • Love is love is love is love

  • Listen with your heart.

  • Be kind.

  • Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.

  • "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~John Muir

  • Equal Justice Under Law

  • It Gets Better

  • Tend your inner garden well and it will bring you happiness and beauty.

  • Life’s garden should be filled with many kinds of flowers for the maximum joy.

  • Whether the stairs go up or down, do a little dance to help you go.

  • Never stop learning, anything, always and with passion

  • Every relationship is a reflection on yourself. Look hard and listen.

  • The fog might block the sun, but it also cools the body.

  • The answer is in the story and the story isn’t finished

  • Let everything happen to you. No feeling last forever

  • Some rise, some fall, some climb to get to Terrapin

  • SMILE

  • Not all who wander are lost

  • Don't be nice, be kind. There is a difference.

  • Good health is the best luck of all.

  • Failure is the best teacher

  • Be the change you wish to see in the world

  • You are enough

  • Release yourself from the outcome

  • Don't hold onto anything too tightly

  • Err on the side of love

  • Family is everything

  • Caminante no hay canino, se have camino al andar

    [The walker doesn’t make the path, the path is made by walking]

  • Piensa menos, vive más

    [Think less, live more]

  • Se valiente, tu vida y tus opiniones valen

    [Be brave, your life and opinions matter]

  • Comunida, Amor, y Confianza

    [Community, Love, and Confidence]

  • Have fun

  • Be creative

  • Stay curious

  • Live honorably

  • We are not nothing

  • Don’t dig the hole so deep you won’t see the light

  • A no today is a yes tomorrow

  • 少壯不努力，老大徒傷悲

    [Now is too late to regret the time wasted in one's youth.]

  • 學習不能一步登天

    [Learn by steps not by leaps]

  • Try therapy!

  • Don’t believe everything you think.

  • Two years from now this moment will feel different. We heal.

  • Don’t do too much.

  • Breath into discomfort. it is growth.

  • Make your plan … and work your plan!

  • When you stop caring what other people think of you, you will be free

  • Sugar, your smile is the most important part of you.

  • You are enough

  • Always …. grateful

  • Spend more time with those you love.

  • It is ok to not know.

  • Be your juiciest self! Let the rest go.

  • Stop being bitter about your thighs.

  • I know it may not seem like it now … but … you are exactly who you need to be.

  • Apply sunscreen every morning.

  • always have clean undies when you leave the house

  • Stories (real or fiction) produce real emotions

  • Time heals, give it time.

  • Hãy trân trọng những ngay bây giờ [appreciate what you have right now]

  • đừng vì tham tiền bỏ nghĩa anh em
    [trust is more important than money]

  • lòng mẹ bao la
    [The mother's heart is immense]

  • Time is worth more than money can buy.

  • Live and be free.

  • Know your limits, don’t put pressure on yourself.

  • When life gives you lemons, make lemon curd!

  • Self love is the number one key

  • My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but to be better then I used to be

  • Everything good starts from nothing

  • A loved one will always watch over you

  • The real ones don’t leave

  • Love is unconditional

  • May all the beauty be blessed

  • Excellence, not perfection

  • Life is a mural, paint it

  • Hurt people, hurt people. Don't hurt people

  • Don’t just be curious, but search …

  • You’re stronger than you know

  • Love thy Neighborhood Garden

  • Life is not a game

  • Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour

  • Even if things are hard they won't last forever.

  • Enjoy time while you can, it zips by fast.

  • Not being okay is okay :)

  • Don't stop for no one

  • Stop looking down or you’ll fall

  • Listen to your body.

  • Worry Never Solves Anything

  • Don't hold onto anything too tightly

  • Life finds a way

  • Live your dreams, and love your world

  • Don’t let fear stop you

  • Look Up at the Beautiful World

  • After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water

  • Don't give up

  • Enjoy every moment like it's the last.

  • I'm happy that you are by my side.

  • I don’t sweat, I sparkle

  • Someone out there loves you for who you truly are

  • Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself

  • The longest journey begins with a single step.

  • Err on the side of love

  • Age softens us in the best ways

  • Speak blessing into your life

  • Love thy neighbor(hood)

  • Shine from the inside

  • trust your creativity

  • Choose LOVE!

  • the only normal people are the ones you don't know very well

  • living young keeps you young

  • Sempre avanti. Always forward

  • You never know what you can do until you try :)

  • “Tudo vale a pena quando a Alma não é pequena". Fernando Pessoa

  • Sharing a meal is the original social networking

  • I'm not an optimist or a pessimist. I'm a possibilist. What will you make possible?

  • אפשר להיות חצי בהריון

    [You can’t be half pregnant]

  • Don't wait for the right moment. Do it now.

  • Remember to see the humor in hard times.

  • Focus on a small detail that delights you.

  • Treat others the way you want them to remember you.

  • Smile at your neighbors when you pass each other :)

  • There are treasures to be found in the library!

  • You can't second guess the past.

  • The future begins with each moment

  • Time is eminently reliable

  • Love steps. Your glutes will be envied.

  • Feed your soul. Your future self will appreciate it.

  • Be involved with your community!

  • Know your neighbors

  • Love your neighborhood

  • Walk daily

  • Learn to dance then dance with joy

  • Poodles rock!

  • La Lucha Continua

  • Breathe

  • Be kind to others and yourself

  • Accept yourself

  • Remember: Nobody is just one thing.

  • Speak to yourself how you would speak to your friend

  • Vulnerability is true strength

  • Believe in yourself even when others don't.

  • Don't believe everything you think.

  • Treat others the way you want to be treated.

  • Be Yourself- Everyone Else is taken

  • Kindness goes a long way!

  • Don’t look back

  • Fight the good fight

  • Be love, be kind, be giving

  • Helping others is the key to happiness

  • Be kind whenever possible. It’s always possible.

  • Friends are more valuable than money

  • Perseverance furthers- I Ching

  • Are straight people ok?

  • The Heart is a Lonely Hunter; the Heart is a Lonely Hunger

  • Remember to give yourself a little slack

  • Take a risk!

  • Life finds a way

  • Plants for the people

  • Life is a gift

  • You are stronger than you feel in this moment

  • Don’t just be curious, but search…

  • Live your dreams, and love your world

  • Meet strangers. It’s the way to heaven

  • Everybody deserves a second chance

  • You make thousands of decisions everyday

  • Love yourself, love people, love life

  • Don’t ever give up

  • When you seek within yourself, you will never be lost

  • 读万卷书，行万里路

    [It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.]

  • 笑一笑，世界更美妙！

    [A smile makes the world better!]

  • 萬丈高樓平地起

    [High buildings rise from the ground]

  • Believe in yourself

  • Find your own happiness

  • Trust your gut

  • Spread joy!

  • Trust yourself

  • Love yourself

  • Clear is kind … Unclear in unkind

  • Break down to break thru.

  • Live with love

  • The storm does not always come to destroy, often it arrives to clear your path.

  • Gratitude

  • Pause, reflect, redirect

  • You are so much more beautiful than you you are.

  • Go big or go home

  • Love, sustain, serve

  • Master your skills

  • Allow the stars

  • Reflect, reconcile, reform

  • Represent & shine

  • Pivot

  • The crack are where the light gets in

  • Take it Easy

  • If not now, when?

  • Tutto Scorre [Italian for - Everything flows]

  • There is always fog in the mind until it clicks together and becomes a reality

  • The elderly have work to do with the youngsters

  • Anger is using others’ mistakes to punish yourself

  • Be patient with yourself.

  • Nature bring communities together

  • Treat others how you want to be treated

  • Smile, it always works out in the end

  • Nature is a prime solution

  • Don't change for others :)

  • We need more of ourselves

  • Freedom

  • The answer to your problems are always clear and simple

  • Don’t change yourself for someone who wouldn’t do the same for you

  • Be who you wanna be not who someone else wants you to be

    Be true to yourself and not others

  • Sometimes the best thing to do doesn’t always feel the best

  • Have fun when you still can.

  • I love you.

  • Speak up. Not shut up.

  • Embrace the wonders of Nature.

  • Never work as hard as you play.

  • Be nice

  • Don’t give up. If it doesn’t work the first time, find another way

  • Your feelings are valid.

  • Lay down your crowns

  • Grateful

  • Trust those who trust you

  • Life isn’t about work, or school. It’s about adventures, trying new things, and taking risks.

  • The precision of nature beats the clumsy attempts of humans every time

  • Be proud of yourself and how much you’ve accomplished

  • Your life matters just as much as everyone else's

  • You don't need the world, the world needs you

  • When somethings over you can’t do anything but move on

  • Perfect doesn't exist

  • Practice compassion.

  • You are perfect because of your imperfections

  • Stay pure

  • Nothing good comes from quitting

  • Grow to bloom as a flower.

  • It’s better to create change than do nothing.

  • Do the right thing

  • Live in each season as it passes

Are you a Portola resident? Want to share your Words of Wisdom?