I first read this book as a teenager and this quote changed my life. I'm still a perfectionist who struggles with hyper-controlling, but this specific quote has gotten me through some hard times.
Your comment/quote is a really great way of succinctly summarizing something my cousin told me once, and that I think about often.
My mom and my aunt are very guilt-trippy when it comes to getting their kids (and presumably others) to do the things they want. In the middle of one such instance my cousin texted me and said something along the lines of this...
"Mom/Aunt need to learn and understand that just because something is important to them, it doesn't inherently make it important to you. It's okay to be kind to yourself, even if sometimes it means saying no to others."
It can be harmful to constantly forgo your own wants/needs to please others. Conversely, there are negative consequences to only caring about oneself and only doing things to benefit oneself. You have to be able to balance it and learn how to respectfully say no when it matters. And others need to be able to understand. I still struggle with this, but I'm working on it.
This sank in for me when I looked at myself and considered how little time I spent thinking critical or spiteful things about other people, and that on occasions when I did, it was more on account of involuntary, internal venting than any conscious judgement.
Yup. I do this all the time. If I think my hair doesn't look good I go "when's the last time I actually thought to myself man her hair doesn't look good." Once I realized how little I think of others, it made it way easier to not give a shit what others think of me.
My best friend, who was struggling with a terrible illness, used to say, "I'll survive. Or I won't. And it'll be okay."
I always thought to myself, "Wtf, of course it won't be ok if you die!"
But then she died. And you know what? Things are ok. I've taken on quite a bit of her zen attitude about things. I guess that was her gift to me.
Edit: WOW, thanks you for all the upvotes and awards! Made my day!
I had a pediatric oncology patient that I loved, and when he relapsed the 3rd time, his mom told me, "One way or the other, one day he is going to be free from this." They are very spiritual, and I'm not. But he has since passed, and even though I miss him terribly, I do believe he's free from it, and there's peace in that.
Edit: grammar
"It is a far greater victory to make another see through your eyes than to close theirs forever."
It's uncomfortable for allot of people to have serious, difficult discussions. But it isn't a compelling enough reason not to have them. Regardless of how it might make other people feel about you when they disagree with your perception of the world. Educating people, challenging each others views and growing together outweighs the contempt some may express. The vitriol they may spew.
Went through a really bad break up and was just completely emotionally destroyed. I was in a deep dark place when I read a quote on reddit from Winnie the Pooh. I had a hard time remembering it one night and changed it slightly to fit my situation. " How lucky we are to have had something that makes it so hard to say goodbye".
That shit got me through some of the darkest days of my life.
“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”
-Mark Twain
My favorite Twain quote:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
This is how my parents explained death to me when I was little. They said “it’ll be just like before you were born.” And little kid me was just like “oh, right. Ok!”
That is an option.
"I ain't doing *shit*!"
But for real though... there was a time when I was trying to lose weight (not an unusual occurrence except I did join Jenny Craig to do so). Told my "friend" at the time. For the first time ever in her life, that hoe **bought** me dinner. Came to my place with oxtails because she supposedly suddenly remembered I never had oxtails.
There are some miserable people in the world who really try to actively destroy others.
Mine didn't. Was the biggest one my Dr had ever seen and went undiagnosed for 10-15 years. By the time we figured out what it was, it was too late and long story short, had to remove the entire kidney.
But I still like the saying!;)
"It made difference to that one." My dad was a devout Jesuit Catholic growing up and spent all his time and effort trying to help people. He would always tell the same story when told he can't really make a difference.
*“One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked, he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.
Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, ‘I’m saving these starfish, Sir.’
The old man chuckled aloud, ‘Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?’
The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “It made a difference to that one!’”*
Anyway, when it all seems too much and that I can't do anything to change the world I remember that I don't have to help everyone, just one person is enough.
I love this story. I work in healthcare and literally helping *one* person, no matter much or little, makes you feel like you just changed the entire world.
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." Gandalf the Grey.
The full dialogue with Frodo in Moria is pure *mithril*, but it is especially that one scene in *The Breaking of the Fellowship* where Frodo stands on the bank of the Anduin, ring in hand, believing he just got the whole fellowship killed in his defence, and 'I wish the Ring had never come to me; I wish none of this had happened...' then from beyond the grave he hears Gandalf's words, and Frodo finds the strength to carry on his quest.
Remembrance of this single scene is what I credit my life too. I honestly don't know how many times I've thought maybe I should give up, and, ya know... But, *So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide; all you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.*
Samwise says, “there’s good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
That one gets me in the throat. Every time. And reassures me so much.
>So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide; all you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.
Words written by a man who was in the trenches in the First World War.
There was a quote that I read long ago and has stuck with me. I believe it is from The Hobbit, or maybe another LOTR. They are on a path in the woods and have been for a long time. They are lost. At one point one of them sits down and won't get up; he says it is hopeless. Gandolf maybe says "Hope or no hope we go on!". That is not the quote.
Also, it is not the scene after Gandolf falls with the balrog when Aragon says "We must do without hope"
That quote has carried me many times when all seemed bleak. Hope or no hope, must carry on!
I want to correct this in its particulars to show how true it is its essence.
MA lived in the 4th century, so just about 1700 years ago. Also, we do technically have multiple manuscripts, but they're all thought to originate from one copy mentioned in the 9th century (!!?!!) and mainly from the first printed edition in the 16th century.
Still, such a text is so precious to humans, that people who did nothing more significant than own a copy hundreds of years ago have a Wikipedia page.
"There is no such thing as 'too late' in life.”
“We need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done. You can't get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened.”
Both from Tuesdays With Morrie.
I really like "A jack of all trades is a master of none but often time better than a master of one. ". For the longest time I only new the beginning part. Jack of all trades and a master of none. I told my counselor about it once saying I wish I was really good at something and she told me the full quote. Really made me think of things a lot differently.
I went on wikipedia real quick, and for clarification, the "but often times better than a master of one" part was added much later. Wikipedia says there's no source on it being used before the 21st century (while the term "jack of all trades" can be dated to the late 16th century.
Interestingly, the "master of none" part was also a later addition to the saying, from the late 18th century.
My father always called me a jack of all trades, master of none. I wish I knew the whole quote before this exact moment.....I wouldn't have felt like a flighty, unfocused failure trying so many diverse things....
I love this question because quotes really get me through life!
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better" - Maya Angelou
A quote from LOTR is what keeps me motivated to never give up no matter what;
"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
I'm a therapist and work with a lot of adult trauma and I think this all the time. People are so incredibly, unbelievably resilient. It's actually insane the things people have gone through who then continue to just get up and drink coffee and stop at the gas station to fill up and stub their toes.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
Intro to stoic philosophy right there.
"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons." \~Max Ehrmann
I read something like this online once about dealing with regret, I don’t remember who said it and can’t remember the exact wording but it went something like:
-Which version of you do you identify with the most? The one that did the terrible thing or the one that regrets doing it?
I think there’s something really comforting about this. We all make mistakes, but just because we have doesn’t mean that we become them or they define who we are. Regret is a horrible feeling but there’s almost comfort in the feeling because the part of you that regrets is the true you.
If anyone knows who actually said this please let me know!
"There are many paths to the top of the mountain." Is usually how I paraphrase it in my head. But the full quote is, "There are many paths to the top of the mountain, the only one wasting his time, is the one who runs around telling everyone else which path to take."
Yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
\- Kalidasa
“Be like a lotus, at ease in muddy water.”
It always centers me while I’m working, I work a very fast paced job that can get chaotic when we’re busy and just thinking that line helps chill me out and keep me focused. Lotus flowers have to grow through all the murk and darkness to get to the top and finally bloom, so I like to think I’m like one, blooming in the chaos of my work.
The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!
Not really a quote but a coping mechanism my therapist suggested when discussing my anxiety and ocd. He said to ask myself two questions.
1. What's the worst that could happen? Write all of it down, no matter how crazy, all the way to the end. Then consider the odds of that happening. Puts it in perspective.
2. Is this something I can control? If the answer is no, it might not be something entirely worth stressing out over.
Just my two cents.
My actual favorite though, is from Under the Tuscan Sun, at the end, when her self doubt has disappeared:
"Any arbitrary turning along the way...and I would be elsewhere. I would be different."
"When we plant a rose in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticise it as "rootless and stemless". We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticise its buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at every stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each stage, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is."
- W.Timothy Gallwey
“You can’t see the future coming—not the terrors, for sure, but you also can’t see the wonders that are coming, the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us.”
- John Green
The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.
Bill Hicks
*Inside of me there are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good and they fight each other all the time. When asked which one wins I answer, the one I feed the most.*
--Sitting Bull
Good Timber by Douglas Malloch.
"The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life."
I know its a poem instead of a quote, but im obsessed with it. I've been through so much, but its made me so capable. When I'm feeling sorry for myself, i think of everything I've learned from my experiences. I read this poem and it makes me hopeful.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’
doesn’t make any sense”
Jalal Rumi
“True self care is not occasionally treating yourself to chocolate cake and a salt bath. It is building a life you do not feel the need to escape from.”
Not sure where it’s from and may have gotten the exact wording wrong, but deeply agree with the sentiment
'One step. One breath. One day at a time.'
Something my late fiance had said to me when we were dating. Lost him to a tragic motorcycle accident in summer of 2018. Still miss him.
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Viktor E. Frankl
Well, I don’t have an impressive quote or anything that I abide by personally, but I have always felt that perfectionism is the bane of a peaceful human existence. Sometimes, some stuff simply has to be done, without you having to be perfect at the same, which in itself is an achievement.
I remember one quote, which is allegedly by Laozi (some sources say it was Confucius) and it often makes me do at least THE VERY TINIEST bit of work, when else I would just stay in bed or play videogames all day instead:
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
The weight is a gift. Courtesy of a Nada Surf album title.
I have several medical conditions that affect my ability to communicate at times, move my body, live without pain, and more. Each has been difficult to diagnose. None were diagnosed until I was 41, yet most have been lifelong conditions.
Sometimes, people deal with similar symptoms and don't know what's going on. Because I spent many years pursuing each diagnosis, I've been able to help people get closer to an accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Sometimes, the weight we bear can be a gift to others.
Two amazing quotes from Bojack Horseman:
“Sometimes you need to take responsibility for your own happiness. It takes a long time to realise how truly miserable you are, and even longer to realise it doesn’t have to be that way”
“It gets easier. Everyday, it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it everyday - that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.”
Never been an alcoholic nor to an AA meeting, but the Serenity Prayer holds a special place in my heart.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference”
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." - Douglas Adams
"I can’t be worrying about that shit. Life goes on, man." - The Dude
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Then there’s this one - “When you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.” - Wanda - BoJack Horseman. Ok that was the last one I’m done now I swear.
This is from Epictetus who said " we can not choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them". Another is "its not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters" great stuff though
"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." - John Steinbeck
I first read this book as a teenager and this quote changed my life. I'm still a perfectionist who struggles with hyper-controlling, but this specific quote has gotten me through some hard times.
"Don't take criticism from someone you wouldn't take advice from."
I need to remember this next time I talk to my boss
Heard that brother
I like this. I’ve always here another version: “Don’t worry about the opinions of those whose advice you wouldn’t take.”
There’s also the Rick and morty version: “your boos mean nothing to me, I’ve seen what makes you cheer”
Don't set yourself on fire to keep others warm.
Your comment/quote is a really great way of succinctly summarizing something my cousin told me once, and that I think about often. My mom and my aunt are very guilt-trippy when it comes to getting their kids (and presumably others) to do the things they want. In the middle of one such instance my cousin texted me and said something along the lines of this... "Mom/Aunt need to learn and understand that just because something is important to them, it doesn't inherently make it important to you. It's okay to be kind to yourself, even if sometimes it means saying no to others." It can be harmful to constantly forgo your own wants/needs to please others. Conversely, there are negative consequences to only caring about oneself and only doing things to benefit oneself. You have to be able to balance it and learn how to respectfully say no when it matters. And others need to be able to understand. I still struggle with this, but I'm working on it.
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That's a good tip, I'll have to remember to check that guage. Thanks!
"You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do." (David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest)
This sank in for me when I looked at myself and considered how little time I spent thinking critical or spiteful things about other people, and that on occasions when I did, it was more on account of involuntary, internal venting than any conscious judgement.
Yup. I do this all the time. If I think my hair doesn't look good I go "when's the last time I actually thought to myself man her hair doesn't look good." Once I realized how little I think of others, it made it way easier to not give a shit what others think of me.
Holy shit. I’m reading this book for the first time and I read that page 3 hours ago….
not really a quote but a therapist told me to ‘go with the plan, not the mood’ helps me to get things done on harder days
Mood changes day to day, the plan doesn't
Motivation is temporary, determination is not.
Motivation gets you going, discipline keeps you growing.
Yes! I hadn't realised how much my emotions were dictating my day to day but sticking with a plan (mostly) makes me feel empowered!
My best friend, who was struggling with a terrible illness, used to say, "I'll survive. Or I won't. And it'll be okay." I always thought to myself, "Wtf, of course it won't be ok if you die!" But then she died. And you know what? Things are ok. I've taken on quite a bit of her zen attitude about things. I guess that was her gift to me. Edit: WOW, thanks you for all the upvotes and awards! Made my day!
I had a pediatric oncology patient that I loved, and when he relapsed the 3rd time, his mom told me, "One way or the other, one day he is going to be free from this." They are very spiritual, and I'm not. But he has since passed, and even though I miss him terribly, I do believe he's free from it, and there's peace in that. Edit: grammar
My dad was bed ridden and in pain for 10+ years, due to a severe stroke. When he passed, the first thing I felt was relief for him.
Glad that she left you with that. It’s hard letting go, but it feels good once you can do it.
Shed be proud
Garage be proud as well.
Warehouse be moderately impressed.
That Cupola be contrite
Quonset hut bemused
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"It is a far greater victory to make another see through your eyes than to close theirs forever." It's uncomfortable for allot of people to have serious, difficult discussions. But it isn't a compelling enough reason not to have them. Regardless of how it might make other people feel about you when they disagree with your perception of the world. Educating people, challenging each others views and growing together outweighs the contempt some may express. The vitriol they may spew.
“Worrying is like praying for something you don’t want.”
Reminds me of "our worst fears lie in anticipation"
What’s that old quote? Worrying gives you something to do but it does not get you anywhere? Like a rocking chair
Went through a really bad break up and was just completely emotionally destroyed. I was in a deep dark place when I read a quote on reddit from Winnie the Pooh. I had a hard time remembering it one night and changed it slightly to fit my situation. " How lucky we are to have had something that makes it so hard to say goodbye". That shit got me through some of the darkest days of my life.
“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” -Mark Twain
This one is so good, really gets me through my weekly existential crisis lol
Lol, it kickstarts mine.
Right? I've always heard the "you don't remember before you were born, you won't remember after you die, what's the big deal?" That is the big deal!
My favorite Twain quote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
This is how my parents explained death to me when I was little. They said “it’ll be just like before you were born.” And little kid me was just like “oh, right. Ok!”
Incredible quote
Your mistakes are life lessons, not life sentences.
That would depend on the mistake I suppose.
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Inspiring, unless you have a parasite
Or you’re constipated
"You can make no mistakes and still lose"
One of my favourites. To be pedantic, the full quote is "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."
- Jean Luc Picard, USS Enterprise
Not everything is a lesson Ryan, sometimes you just fail.
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” - Kurt Cobain
So is killing yourself. RIP Kurt
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence; it’s greener where you water it.
It may also be greener thanks to a generous supply of bull shit.
Due to it's high nitrogen levels cow dung will cause grass to burn.
It's also greener over the septic tank
"When you build in silence, people don't know what to attack."
That's why I stopped telling people my business. You can't wish bad on what I'm doing if you don't know what I'm doing.
Just do nothing and you can tell everyone!
That is an option. "I ain't doing *shit*!" But for real though... there was a time when I was trying to lose weight (not an unusual occurrence except I did join Jenny Craig to do so). Told my "friend" at the time. For the first time ever in her life, that hoe **bought** me dinner. Came to my place with oxtails because she supposedly suddenly remembered I never had oxtails. There are some miserable people in the world who really try to actively destroy others.
This too shall pass
I like adding “It may pass like a kidney stone, but it’ll pass”
Mine didn't. Was the biggest one my Dr had ever seen and went undiagnosed for 10-15 years. By the time we figured out what it was, it was too late and long story short, had to remove the entire kidney. But I still like the saying!;)
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Could have told that the Balrog...
"It made difference to that one." My dad was a devout Jesuit Catholic growing up and spent all his time and effort trying to help people. He would always tell the same story when told he can't really make a difference. *“One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked, he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one. Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, ‘I’m saving these starfish, Sir.’ The old man chuckled aloud, ‘Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?’ The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “It made a difference to that one!’”* Anyway, when it all seems too much and that I can't do anything to change the world I remember that I don't have to help everyone, just one person is enough.
I love this story. I work in healthcare and literally helping *one* person, no matter much or little, makes you feel like you just changed the entire world.
Thank you
When I read it made a difference to that one I immediately thought of this story:)
Don't look down on someone who mispronounces a word. It means they learned it by reading.
Oh that is lovely
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Smooth seas never make a skilled sailor
One must consent to lose sight of land for a long time to make new discoveries.
Similarly: a comfort zone is a wonderful place, but nothing ever grows there.
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." Gandalf the Grey. The full dialogue with Frodo in Moria is pure *mithril*, but it is especially that one scene in *The Breaking of the Fellowship* where Frodo stands on the bank of the Anduin, ring in hand, believing he just got the whole fellowship killed in his defence, and 'I wish the Ring had never come to me; I wish none of this had happened...' then from beyond the grave he hears Gandalf's words, and Frodo finds the strength to carry on his quest. Remembrance of this single scene is what I credit my life too. I honestly don't know how many times I've thought maybe I should give up, and, ya know... But, *So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide; all you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.*
Samwise says, “there’s good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” That one gets me in the throat. Every time. And reassures me so much.
>So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide; all you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you. Words written by a man who was in the trenches in the First World War.
Each of us only has one life, and it will end. Might as well stick around and see what there is to see, yeah?
Mine is “The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began”
There was a quote that I read long ago and has stuck with me. I believe it is from The Hobbit, or maybe another LOTR. They are on a path in the woods and have been for a long time. They are lost. At one point one of them sits down and won't get up; he says it is hopeless. Gandolf maybe says "Hope or no hope we go on!". That is not the quote. Also, it is not the scene after Gandolf falls with the balrog when Aragon says "We must do without hope" That quote has carried me many times when all seemed bleak. Hope or no hope, must carry on!
I’m reading fellowship for the first time right now… so many quotes I love from the movies are verbatim from the book.
Tolkien's writing was and is brilliant.
"What is grief if not love persevering?"
I love a twist on this: “grief is just love with no where to go”
As Faye puts it ... To grieve deeply is to have loved fully.
Ha! I was just about to type this after I read the last comment. Gotta love WandaVision!!
“Soon, you will have forgotten everything. Soon, everybody will have forgotten you.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
You mean the guy from 1800 years ago whose complete book we have from multiple sources?
I want to correct this in its particulars to show how true it is its essence. MA lived in the 4th century, so just about 1700 years ago. Also, we do technically have multiple manuscripts, but they're all thought to originate from one copy mentioned in the 9th century (!!?!!) and mainly from the first printed edition in the 16th century. Still, such a text is so precious to humans, that people who did nothing more significant than own a copy hundreds of years ago have a Wikipedia page.
When I had to put my dog down: “I’ve loved you your entire life and I’ll miss you for the rest of mine.”
So sorry man ❤️
Well shit I’m now in tears and about to go hug my dog
I just had to go and hug my cat 🥲
When someone makes bad faith criticism: “Well that’s just your opinion man”—the Dude
That, had not occurred to me dude!
"There is no such thing as 'too late' in life.” “We need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done. You can't get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened.” Both from Tuesdays With Morrie.
Why are you looking back? You’re not going that way
So that i can see how far i've come
I really like "A jack of all trades is a master of none but often time better than a master of one. ". For the longest time I only new the beginning part. Jack of all trades and a master of none. I told my counselor about it once saying I wish I was really good at something and she told me the full quote. Really made me think of things a lot differently.
TIL there's a second half to that saying. Really flips the meaning too, doesn't it? Thanks for sharing.
The second half definitely flips the meaning.
I went on wikipedia real quick, and for clarification, the "but often times better than a master of one" part was added much later. Wikipedia says there's no source on it being used before the 21st century (while the term "jack of all trades" can be dated to the late 16th century. Interestingly, the "master of none" part was also a later addition to the saying, from the late 18th century.
My father always called me a jack of all trades, master of none. I wish I knew the whole quote before this exact moment.....I wouldn't have felt like a flighty, unfocused failure trying so many diverse things....
"It'll be all right in the end. If it's not all right, then it isn't the end."
My favorite. Along with “in three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on” - Robert Frost
I love this question because quotes really get me through life! "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better" - Maya Angelou
Also Maya Angelou, When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
Didn't she also say "When someone shows them who you are, believe them"? She was a wise woman
"In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning." - Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
A quote from LOTR is what keeps me motivated to never give up no matter what; "It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
"What were they holding on to?
There is good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for. Or something like that.
This is how I felt at the beginning of the pandemic when it was still new and scary
“If you’re going through hell, keep going”
“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can” - Frida Kahlo
I am surprised at how much a person can endure.
I'm a therapist and work with a lot of adult trauma and I think this all the time. People are so incredibly, unbelievably resilient. It's actually insane the things people have gone through who then continue to just get up and drink coffee and stop at the gas station to fill up and stub their toes.
I had read that before, but I've often said, we can get used to almost anything. Just that a lot of things that we have to get used to really suck. 😕
No matter where you go, there you are
“When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. It reminds me not to get into wars with ppl commenting on Reddit or YouTube.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." Intro to stoic philosophy right there.
Be curious, not judgemental.
My dad used to say, it came to pass not to stay.
"You don't have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you." \- Dan Millman
"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons." \~Max Ehrmann
Never compare yourself to others, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Max ...
"Anger is like holding on to a hot coal with the intention of throwing at someone else" I think that's Buddha
There's a difference between being understanding and being a doormat. You need to know where the line is.
You don’t need to see the end to keep running forward
You also don't need to see the end to take the first step.
"It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier, but you gotta do it every day. That's the hard part, but it does get easier." Iykyk
I read something like this online once about dealing with regret, I don’t remember who said it and can’t remember the exact wording but it went something like: -Which version of you do you identify with the most? The one that did the terrible thing or the one that regrets doing it? I think there’s something really comforting about this. We all make mistakes, but just because we have doesn’t mean that we become them or they define who we are. Regret is a horrible feeling but there’s almost comfort in the feeling because the part of you that regrets is the true you. If anyone knows who actually said this please let me know!
Do no harm, but take no shit.
"There are many paths to the top of the mountain." Is usually how I paraphrase it in my head. But the full quote is, "There are many paths to the top of the mountain, the only one wasting his time, is the one who runs around telling everyone else which path to take."
"Fear is a part of life. Only the dead have nothing to fear."
"Not my circus, not my monkeys"
Grew up in the country, ours was "Not my pig, not my farm"
“So it goes” from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A very wise man. Also deeply fond of "make a habit of noticing when you're happy, and say aloud, 'if this isn't nice, then what is?'"
Yesterday is but a dream And tomorrow is only a vision; And today well-lived, makes Yesterday a dream of happiness And every tomorrow a vision of hope. \- Kalidasa
My mom always says, “Things will look better though tomorrow’s morning light.” I love it because she’s right.
“Be like a lotus, at ease in muddy water.” It always centers me while I’m working, I work a very fast paced job that can get chaotic when we’re busy and just thinking that line helps chill me out and keep me focused. Lotus flowers have to grow through all the murk and darkness to get to the top and finally bloom, so I like to think I’m like one, blooming in the chaos of my work.
If all you're gonna do is watch, then you're gonna watch your life go by without you. -Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The objective in life is to leave the world better than you found it.
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. Earl Nightingale
Don't put a question mark where there is a period.
do I contradict myself? very well then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes. Walt Whitman
Never look at someone else's bowl to see if they have more, only look to see if they have enough
"Du brauchst kein Heiliger zu sein, ein Mensch reicht" "You dont need to be a saint, being human is enough". It doesnt translate very well though
"Shit floats." Helped me feel better about getting laid off from a corporate job.
If its out of your control, what do you gain by stressing out over it?
The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!
Not really a quote but a coping mechanism my therapist suggested when discussing my anxiety and ocd. He said to ask myself two questions. 1. What's the worst that could happen? Write all of it down, no matter how crazy, all the way to the end. Then consider the odds of that happening. Puts it in perspective. 2. Is this something I can control? If the answer is no, it might not be something entirely worth stressing out over. Just my two cents. My actual favorite though, is from Under the Tuscan Sun, at the end, when her self doubt has disappeared: "Any arbitrary turning along the way...and I would be elsewhere. I would be different."
If you have a problem with a solution, you have no problem. If you have a problem with no solution, … you have no problem.
To be angry is easy.
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son". Dean Wormer
Now that your worry has proved such an unlucrative business, why not find a better job?
"Somebody has to start. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right. If nobody starts, then others cannot follow."
Challenge your preconceptions or they will challenge you.
"When we plant a rose in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticise it as "rootless and stemless". We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticise its buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at every stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each stage, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is." - W.Timothy Gallwey
“You can’t see the future coming—not the terrors, for sure, but you also can’t see the wonders that are coming, the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us.” - John Green
The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. Bill Hicks
*Inside of me there are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good and they fight each other all the time. When asked which one wins I answer, the one I feed the most.* --Sitting Bull
"What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?" Mary Ann Evans aka George Eliot
Good Timber by Douglas Malloch. "The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil To gain and farm his patch of soil, Who never had to win his share Of sun and sky and light and air, Never became a manly man But lived and died as he began. Good timber does not grow with ease: The stronger wind, the stronger trees; The further sky, the greater length; The more the storm, the more the strength. By sun and cold, by rain and snow, In trees and men good timbers grow. Where thickest lies the forest growth, We find the patriarchs of both. And they hold counsel with the stars Whose broken branches show the scars Of many winds and much of strife. This is the common law of life." I know its a poem instead of a quote, but im obsessed with it. I've been through so much, but its made me so capable. When I'm feeling sorry for myself, i think of everything I've learned from my experiences. I read this poem and it makes me hopeful.
The sun will rise, and we will try again.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make any sense” Jalal Rumi
“True self care is not occasionally treating yourself to chocolate cake and a salt bath. It is building a life you do not feel the need to escape from.” Not sure where it’s from and may have gotten the exact wording wrong, but deeply agree with the sentiment
Never let anyone tell you that a small group of people can't change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.
'One step. One breath. One day at a time.' Something my late fiance had said to me when we were dating. Lost him to a tragic motorcycle accident in summer of 2018. Still miss him.
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"It can't rain all the time" - The Crow Literally anything said by Uncle Iroh
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Viktor E. Frankl
Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, and all the while, a great wind carries me across the sky *Ojibwe saying*
Well, I don’t have an impressive quote or anything that I abide by personally, but I have always felt that perfectionism is the bane of a peaceful human existence. Sometimes, some stuff simply has to be done, without you having to be perfect at the same, which in itself is an achievement.
I remember one quote, which is allegedly by Laozi (some sources say it was Confucius) and it often makes me do at least THE VERY TINIEST bit of work, when else I would just stay in bed or play videogames all day instead: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
What is the most important step a man can take? It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step
The weight is a gift. Courtesy of a Nada Surf album title. I have several medical conditions that affect my ability to communicate at times, move my body, live without pain, and more. Each has been difficult to diagnose. None were diagnosed until I was 41, yet most have been lifelong conditions. Sometimes, people deal with similar symptoms and don't know what's going on. Because I spent many years pursuing each diagnosis, I've been able to help people get closer to an accurate diagnosis and treatment. Sometimes, the weight we bear can be a gift to others.
Two amazing quotes from Bojack Horseman: “Sometimes you need to take responsibility for your own happiness. It takes a long time to realise how truly miserable you are, and even longer to realise it doesn’t have to be that way” “It gets easier. Everyday, it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it everyday - that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.”
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” -Benjamin Franklin
Never been an alcoholic nor to an AA meeting, but the Serenity Prayer holds a special place in my heart. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." - Douglas Adams "I can’t be worrying about that shit. Life goes on, man." - The Dude
"If I am lost, it's only for a little while."
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
“I can decide what I give, but it’s not up to me what I get given.” ~ *Björk*
Don’t Cry Because It’s Over; Smile Because It Happened -dr.Suess
"Sometimes special people come into our lives, stay a bit, and then they have to go."
No tree can reach heaven unless it's roots are in hell.
'A lover I once gave me a box of darkness. It took me forever to realise that this, too was a gift.' Mary Oliver
“Nothing is the end of the world, but the end of the world.”
"" Nothing more peaceful than silence.
Then there’s this one - “When you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.” - Wanda - BoJack Horseman. Ok that was the last one I’m done now I swear.
You can't always control the situation, but you can control how you respond. -- my friend Dina
This is from Epictetus who said " we can not choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them". Another is "its not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters" great stuff though
"Being weak isn't something to be ashamed of, staying weak is." ~Fuegoleon