Even better if you can provide your own understanding of its meaning.
Mine would be :
“Nothing kills a man as much as being forced to represent a country” (and err considering the context, I must stress it has nothing to do with the current US shitshow), by a WW1 soldier, illustrator and writer named Jacques Vaché.
For me it just means being forced into representing a group (national, of course, but maybe also social, racial, sexual, professional, any kind of group) or defining one’s identity only by reference to a group is to be avoided at all costs.
Note : Its not the same, imho, as engaging in a collective struggle or defense against a common oppression.
How about you?
Be excellent to each other and party on dudes.
Genuinely how I try to live my life, be kind and helpful to others and enjoy myself doing it.
We have liberated Europe from fascism, but they will never forgive us for it
- Marshal Georgy Zhukov
“Who’s ‘we’, paleface?”
It’s from a silly joke, so it’s not meant to be taken seriously. But I remember it every time some politician or Internet dweller or anything in between uses “we” to describe a position, an opinion, etc. Who’s ‘we’? Do you dream to speak for others, for me? In my stead?
Love this one. Used to teach students in political science about the horrible thing that “political ventiloquism” is.
No matter how many books , videos you see , you cannot learn how to swim without entering the pool.
“Feelings are like children, you can’t let them drive, but you can’t put them in the trunk.”
But I feel that one has a ¨spiritual parent¨:
“Educate a child so you don’t have to reprimand an adult.”
and a ¨spiritual sibling¨:
“If your only tool is a Hammer then every problem looks like a Nail.”
This one’s my favourite
It’s a poem by Stephen Crane, but so short I’m often reminded of it in full:
A man said to the universe:
”Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
It sounds nihilistic, but it’s somehow calming whenever I start to feel like I’ve been wronged or I’m owed a break of some sort.
The pleasure of being understood is underrated
- Simon Baker portraying Patrick Jane in The Mentalist
Oof. I felt that.
“When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.” -A clump of talking stars in Futurama I look at it like being a good custodian or someone who takes pride in the smallest details of their work, regardless of whether or not you receive recognition for them. Most people don’t notice the effort being put in when things are running smoothly. The work of the people behind the scenes is directly responsible for successes in the spotlight.
That’s a loose quote from the Tao te ching.
Interesting. Something new to look up!
This is what IT feels like. Everything is working? What do we pay those guys for?
Everything is not working? What do we pay those guys for?
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
I would be so far ahead of where I am right now if I had just decided on a course and committed instead of analyzing all the choices to death.
Rewatched that recently. I was really surprised how dark it sometimes gets for a kids’ show. It still holds up really well!
The less you know about your history, the easier it is to imagine you’d always be on the right side of it.
I would rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that cannot be questioned.
Richard Feynman
“Nobody will take care of you if you don’t take care of yourself”
Apply this to pushing back on contracts, double checking what you’re asked to do, and putting yourself first, and you’ll get a lot more respect in my experience. If you primarily put others first, your self will feel neglected. It doesn’t mean you should not care for others, but that your highest priority should be yourself, and then others.
A life lesson I’ll learn one day. Trying my best though, but it’ll take time. Thanks for sharing.
“Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source” - Iroh
And
“Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.” - Hitchhikers Guide
Dont think about things too much. Just accept it, and change accordingly with a response
Came for the second, stayed for the first
Also from H2G2, behold the majestic : " -Perhaps I’m old and tired, but I think that the chances of finding out what’s actually going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say, “Hang the sense of it,” and keep yourself busy. I’d far rather be happy than right any day.
-And are you?
-Ah. No. Well that’s where it all falls down, of course "
I like it even better in the movie, Bill Nighy embodies this sentence perfectly.
Perhaps today is a good day to die. Prepare for ramming speed!
