Words of Wisdom

"They say patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings
Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king" - Bob Dylan



Peace

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails." - William Arthur Ward

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see" - Henry David Thoreau

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." - William Shakespeare

Shakespeare would consider me wise, because I admit to being a fool often. One that is correct in most respects, but still a fool that is continuing to hopefully learn.

"His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.". A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens.

"His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him." Charles Dickens

That is, if one can stay in the flow of it, the best part of life. Great idea to put here @KM76710

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer." - Bruce Lee

What many that have been around me find interesting is my laugh and sense of humor while my face I normally have a very neutral look on my mug. I just put as empty head, empty expression. LOL

"A human being is part of the whole, called by us Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in it's beauty." - Albert Einstein

"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened." - Montaigne

''Simply have a mind that is open to everything but attached to nothing.''

― Wayne W. Dyer,

"Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us and see the beauty in ordinary things." - Thomas Merton

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
—Theodore Roosevelt
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Written in 1977, these words are alarmingly resonant even now, given the ominous protofascist leanings in recent elections in Europe and S.A. ....and the alarming trend that seems to be growing here in the states. Scary times.



A Farewell to Kings
(Title track of the Rush album by the same name)

When they turn the pages of history
When these days have passed long ago
Will they read of us with sadness
For the seeds that we let grow?

We turned our gaze
From the castles in the distance
Eyes cast down
On the path of least resistance

Cities full of hatred
Fear and lies
Withered hearts
And cruel, tormented eyes
Scheming demons
Dressed in kingly guise
Beating down the multitude
And scoffing at the wise

The hypocrites are slandering
The sacred halls of truth
Ancient nobles showering
Their bitterness on youth

Can't we find
The minds that made us strong?
Oh, can't we learn
To feel what's right and what's wrong? What's wrong

Cities full of hatred
Fear and lies
Withered hearts
And cruel, tormented eyes
Scheming demons
Dressed in kingly guise
Beating down the multitude
And scoffing at the wise

Whoa, can't we raise our eyes
And make a start?
Can't we find the minds
To lead us closer to the heart?...

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Alex Zivojinovich / Gary Lee Weinrib / Neil Elwood Peart

I loved the message in the video you posted today, @JDot , so I'm putting it here:


Liking yourself is an act of rebellion.

- unknown

"Whether you think you can or can't, you're right" - Henry Ford

"The past is history. The future is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.".

This reminds me of a quote from The Holdovers that I really like. "History is not the study of the past. It's an explanation for the present."