Recently BBC America and the global Doctor Who Facebook page asked fans to submit their favorite quotes from Doctor Who, seasons past, to contribute to a roundup of New Year wisdom, advice – words to live by, if you will – from the Doctor and his companions in 2012 and beyond.

As you can imagine, the response was swift and overwhelming, so here, in condensed form, is what we’re going to have to call The Tao of Who:

We’ll get started with one of our favorites: “A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting.” – The Third Doctor, The Time Warrior

From the BBC America Facebook page:

“Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It’s not the time that matters, it’s the person.”

The Tenth Doctor, The Lazarus Experiment – nominated by Jennifer Phelps

“For some people, small, beautiful events are what life is all about.”

The Fifth Doctor, Earthshock – Matthew Rognstad

“There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t act a little childish sometimes.”

The Fourth Doctor, Robot – Melinda Botterbusch (this was a very popular choice, but Melinda was first to nominate it)

“Courage isn’t a matter of not being frightened, you know. It’s being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway.”

The Third Doctor, Planet of the Daleks – Leo Sarmiento

“The good things don’t always soften the bad, but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”

The Eleventh Doctor, Vincent and the Doctor – Courtney Davis

“Never ignore coincidence. Unless, of course, you’re busy. In which case, always ignore coincidence.”

The Eleventh Doctor, The Pandorica Opens – Kathy Quinn Hertzog

“One good solid hope is worth a cartload of certainties.”

The Fourth Doctor, Warrior’s Gate – Barry McCann

“Nobody important? Blimey, that’s amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before.”

The Eleventh Doctor, A Christmas Carol – Hayley Dennis

From the global Doctor Who Facebook page:

“Always take a banana to a party, Rose: bananas are good!”

The Tenth Doctor, The Girl in the Fireplace – Bethy Barnum

“You know when sometimes, you meet someone so beautiful – and then you actually talk to them, and five minutes later they’re as dull as a brick; but then there’s other people. And you meet them and you think, ‘Not bad, they’re okay,’ and then when you get to know them… Their face just sort of becomes them, like their personality’s written all over it, and they just – they turn into something so beautiful. Rory’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.”

Amy Pond, The Girl Who Waited – Katherine Pollock

“Our lives are different from anybody else’s. That’s the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we’re doing.”

The Second Doctor, Tomb of the Cybermen – Romalee Pomi

“Your life could depend on this. Don’t blink. Don’t even blink. Blink and you’re dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink! Good luck.”

The Tenth Doctor, Blink – Karrie Sturgeon

“If it’s time to go, remember what you’re leaving. Remember the best. My friends have always been the best of me.”

The Eleventh Doctor, The Wedding of River Song – Matt Jean-Lubin

“Go forward in all of your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.”

The First Doctor, The Dalek Invasion of Earth – Phil Stewart

“There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.”

The Tenth Doctor, Fear Her – Amy K Malcolm

“I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.”

The Eleventh Doctor, The Almost People – Ned Thorne

“When you’re a kid, they tell you it’s all… Grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid, and that’s it. But the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. It’s so much darker. And so much madder. And so much better.”

Elton, Love and Monsters – Moira Weis

“You don’t just give up. You don’t just let things happen. You make a stand! You say no! You have the guts to do what’s right, even when everyone else just runs away.”

Rose, The Parting of the Ways – Mia Kaim

“There’s always something to look at if you open your eyes!”

The Fifth Doctor, Kinda – Earl Roggeman

“One may suffer a world of demons for the sake of an angel.”

Madame du Pompadour, The Girl in the Fireplace – Will Cole

What’s your most profound Doctor Who quote? Tell us here: