Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was born in England, but later moved to the United States. She became the first female in the United States to receive a medical degree, and the first female physician in the US. She also started a medical school for women. To find out more about Elizabeth Blackwell, click HERE.
Eliabeth Blackwell Quotes
- For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.
- It is well worth the efforts of a life-time to have attained knowledge which justifies an attack on the root of all evil . . . which asserts that because forms of evil have always existed in society, therefore they must always exist . . .
- Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.
- I must have something to engross my thoughts, some object in life which will fill this vacuum and prevent this sad wearing away of the heart.
- Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor.
I can really identify with the second to last quote, because it seems like if I’m not busy, I’m not happy!
Nerdy Chicks Rule 
I’m right with you, Kami 🙂 I can only be idle for short periods. I mean, I can easily watch a good movie when I have the time, but I can’t “marathon” things like that—even when I’m sick and am forced to lay in bed because my body won’t allow for anything else (thank God that’s rare!), I get SO restless lol
The truth is, though, we do need time to relax, think, reflect, etc. We “busy bees” need to remember it’s part of the fuel that keeps our motors running 🙂
Btw, I love all the quotes, but especially the 3rd and last one 🙂
Thanks Donna,
You can relate to this post then… if you haven’t already seen it!
https://nerdychicksrule.com/2013/04/25/permission-to-do-nothing-sir/
Actually, Kami, I HAD read that post! I’m shocked at myself that I hadn’t posted a comment because it is SO me, too!
I don’t think it’s a cultural thing because there are too many lazy, undriven, love-to-waste-time-on-nonsense people in society. I know that, for me, once I hit about 18 and realized more about the state of the world and the reality of mortality, I became more driven. Also, when you are a creative person, you simply can’t stop being creative. If you value time and life, you want to be productive. I think these are some of the reasons why. There’s also, of course, not enough hours in the day for people with full lives and varied interests. It’s just a fact of who we are. Of course, I never vacation of take a day “off” from anything, so to me, watching television IS doing “nothing” UNLESS—and there’s usually an “unless”—you’re learning something or it’s of use, even related to your writing.
If this is the way we function, it just is. It also makes me crave simplicity. I continue to strive for a simpler life, but haven’t truly succeeded yet. I have to say, though, that just because we are always busy doing something, doesn’t mean we aren’t having many moments of the same type contemplation as people who do it idly rather than while doing something. Though my brain is faulty in its operation, it is always active. You know how a lot of people say they brainstorm in the shower? It’s no different than laying on the floor doing nothing 🙂 We need to stop beating ourselves up about it, really, but still—I would love to be able to relax on a hammock, listen to a waterfall and maybe fall asleep 🙂 My allergies prevent that, but even if the didn’t, I would still feel uncomfortable about the time ticking away. Will we ever find balance? I guess if we live with less purpose and suddenly have more than 24 hour in a day! lol : /
Hey, Kami, you have to check this out. It seems to be a theme I’m running into lately! I still have to read the article she gave the link for, but her post is another good one on this very subject 🙂
Well, gang, I just finished reading the NY Times article cited on the guest blog post on Chip’s blog and just wanted to state that the NYT article does NOT reflect what we’re talking about here, except that we do need times of idleness. His perspective and the reasoning behind why people stay busy is NOT the same as why we are busy. One of his comments mentioned that we’re just trying to camougflage that if we didn’t keep busy with all kinds of “stuff,” we would realize our lives were empty and boring. Sorry, but not for THIS Nerdy Chick, and I don’t think for any others! 🙂
By the way, sorry for all the typos! I’m tired lol
Oops, forgot the link! lol
http://www.chipmacgregor.com/blog/uncategorized/terribly-busy/