George Washington Carver's Thoughts
Right Road
…how can I be sure that I’m on the right road?… “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Now you must learn to look to Him for direction and then follow, and you will never go wrong.
George Washington Carver
March 1939
Success
…the further anyone gets away from themselves, the greater will be their success in life…you can’t get very far in life if you can’t get away from self…and see a richer and broader horizon.
George Washington Carver
March 1939
Go Ahead
…sometimes it is wise not to look for too much appreciation. The main thing is to be sure you’re right and go ahead regardless of whether people appreciate it or don’t, because in time they will appreciate it.
George Washington Carver
March 1939
Wisdom
The finite mind of man can never grasp the mysteries of the infinite. It is the highest wisdom, as it is our great happiness, to accept our limitations, to use what we have, and leave the rest to God.
George Washington Carver
1938
Nature Trail
“Day after day, I spent in the woods alone in order to collect my floral beauties, and put them in my little garden I had hidden in brush not far from the house, as it was considered foolishness in the neighborhood to waste time on flowers.”
“…many are the tears I have shed because I would break the roots or flowers of some of my pets while removing them from the ground, and strange to say all sorts of vegetation seemed to thrive under my touch until I was styled the plant doctor…”
Praying
My prayers seem to be more of an attitude than anything else. I indulge in very little lip service, but ask the Great Creator silently, daily and often many times per day, to permit me to speak to Him through the three great Kingdoms of the world, which He has created, viz. – the Animal, Mineral, and Vegetable Kingdoms, their relations to each other, to us, our relations to them and the Great God who made all of us.
George Washington Carver
December 1941
Legacy
No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.
George Washington Carver
May 1915
Serving
Selfishness and self are at the bottom of a lot of troubles in the world. So many people fail to realize that serving God and one’s fellow–men are the only worthwhile things in life. It is service that counts.
George Washington Carver
1938
Helping
My idea is to help the “man farthest down.” This is why I have made every process just as simple as I could to put it within his reach.
George Washington Carver
January 1929
Work Together
I hold before you my hand with each finger standing erect and alone, and so long as they are held thus, not one of all the tasks that the hand may perform can be accomplished. I cannot lift. I cannot grasp. I cannot hold. I cannot even make an intelligible sign until my fingers organize and work together. In this we should also learn a lesson.
George Washington Carver
April 1908
Closer
More and more as we come closer and closer in touch with nature and its teachings are we able to see the Divine and are therefore fitted to interpret correctly the various languages spoken by all forms of nature about us.
George Washington Carver
February 1930
“One of the things that have helped me as much as any other, is not how long I am going to live but how much I can do while living.”
Courtesy hmdb.org
