There has always been the saying that goes like this, "Actions are louder than words." I do think I used to believe this quote without thinking until I realized that a true leader and a mentor use their words to promote both action and silence as well as power or tranquility. A word lover myself, I used to find myself contemplating gradiose quotes and then realizing they meant nothing if I did not seek to apply them. But sometimes I do think that the words we speak on paper first we begin to believe and muster up the courage to transform into breathing souls of life. But only sometimes-if our heart is in the right place are we able to give those words a chance to run. 

Perhaps this has always been why I am so in awe with quotes. I have a quote leader within my classroom, and I read quotes before falling asleep. A quote I have found contains a tiny, packaged soul waiting to be let free with one reading and application. A quote is a living gift because at one point in time, those words were spoken with action, with intention and whimsy. Traveling countless places in my life with many quotes, I must say I continue to feel the most fulfilling sense of wonderment at the Martin Luther King Memorial in D.C. as well as the FDR Memorial right beside it. 

As I was driving to my professional development day, I immedietely thought of the wall of quotes behind the memorial. Ironically, as I parked my car and shoved my hands in my pocket to prevent hypothermia, I had this sense that regardless of the fact that it was Martin Luther King Day, there would silence rather than whimsy. Unbelievably, I was right. There was not a mention of Martin Luther King, his impact on education or his living and breathing words that always contained a secret layer of action. I thought to myself, for a man who was so full of whimsy, how is it that in a room full of educators, his action remained silent? It does make you wonder how often we neglect to remember those who practiced the "do part of faith" with such beauty and natural ability. 

So throughout the day, I made it my mission to read his inspiring words of whimsy, and I chose three quotes I felt were rather timely. 

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.": I do think, in many ways, creativity has gone to the wayside in our schools and our world. Many are quick to find the answer with the help of Google. Creativity requires taking risks and some of us fear the unknown. 

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?" What a beautiful question that inspires the want to do the work of whimsy, to be the whimsy for others and to serve another with the purest intentions. 

And lastly, I have one more quote to mention that I happened to find at the exact moment I needed it. Quotes tend to do that you know-be there for you when no one else is, change your mind when you have already made it up and give hope when you cannot seem to find it yourself. It is a wonder how the quote anyone finds seems to be the right one, and I think I equate this to a rather obvious answer-maybe the quotes we find are always the questions or thoughts we tend to force ourselves to forget. Perhaps every quote of the world is living inside of all of us. Perhaps quotes only reveal themselves in moments of doubt, uncertainty or even silence. 

"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You dont have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." And I find this quote so profound. In the moment of finding it, I had just participated in a long session regarding all types of grammar and grammar rules. Though I would not consider myself a prescriptivist, I find grammar important, and I do enjoy teaching it. However, the more you become consumed with grammar the sooner you forget the words or even the sentence or even the message that is being delivered. Serving in one's community or school or organization is not about how much you know. It is about humbling yourself and admitting how much you don't know. Those who admit this are ready and willing to serve. Those who continue to hold on to pride and count their accomplishments are not able to serve fully. For those of us who do serve, it is inevitable that the people you meet carry out the actions of every quote we have yet to understand. For those of us who serve, we realize our need for further wisdom and grace and love. We attempt to carry out those quotes or small packages of hope. Martin Luther King did just that.