The Open Door (Primary source)
The Open Door presents excerpts from Helen Keller’s previously published works, showcasing her philosophical reflections and spiritual faith. This collection reveals Keller’s profound thoughts on life, death, optimism, and human potential, demonstrating her evolution from symbol to philosopher and writer.
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. Faith alone defends. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”
Helen Keller
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”
— Helen Keller Primary source“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
— Helen Keller Primary source“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”
— Helen Keller Primary source“The test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life. It be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards it, them it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy.”
— Helen Keller Primary source“Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.”
— Winston Churchill Primary source“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”
— Helen Keller Primary source“Truth is our element of life, yet if a man fasten his attention on a single aspect of truth, and apply himself to that alone for a long time, the truth becomes distorted and not itself, but falsehood.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source