Recently Enjoyed Quotes: Fall 2018
From books, articles, podcasts, social media & more, here are some quotes I’ve highlighted, underlined, or scribbled down recently.
“Su Kyi was hoping he would be able to take Tin Win under his wing, too, to coax him out of the darkness that beleaguered him, to teach him what he had taught her: that life is interwoven with suffering. That in every life, without exception, illnesses are unavoidable. That we will age, and that we cannot elude death. These are the laws and conditions of human existence, U May had explained to her. Laws that apply to everyone, everywhere in the world, regardless of how dramatically times might change. There is no power that can release a person from pain or from the sadness one might feel as a result of that insight—unless it be that person himself. And in spite of it all, U May had told her again and again, life is a gift that none might disdain. Life, U May told her, is a gift of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one without the other was simply bound to fail.”
“If you can acknowledge your fear, wisdom will grow. If you can be with your anger, kindness may blossom.”
“Reporter: Mr. Gandhi, what do you think of Western civilization?
Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea.”
“Compassion is not conditional.”
“People act on the outside the way they feel on the inside.”
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed.”
“A truly empowered person does not take power from other people. They help lift other people up.”
“Vastness expands our worldview and shrinks our ego and gives us a feeling of “small self”—in a good way. Awe stirs a greater sense of oneness with others and can open a greater identification with our divine and eternal Self for the spiritually minded. Awe reminds us that we are part of a much deeper intelligence and reminds us of the insignificance of our worries. Awe keeps our egos in check. Awe helps us to move through sadness with gratitude and acceptance.”
“Here’s a mental shift that might help: when you’re feeling hurt, sad, angry, overburdened…think of it not as a problem, but as an experience. Fully feel whatever pain or sadness or anger you’re feeling. Stop avoiding it and just feel it. Truly allow yourself to feel it. And as you feel it, don’t think of the difficult feeling as a problem you need to solve. A thing you need to get rid of. Think of it as an experience you’re having. It’s not a problem, it’s an experience.”
“Regret doesn’t remind us that we did badly, it reminds us that we know we can do better.”
“One of the great purposes of communication is to connect, not correct.”
“Go where peace is easy.”
“The sea always has the last word.”
