Archives for April 2023

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.
—James Allen (British Self-Help Author)

An unquestioned mind is the world of suffering.
—Byron Katie (American Speaker)

Of course, the liar often imagines that he does no harm as long as his lies go undetected. But the one lied to almost never shares this view. The moment we consider our dishonesty from the point of view of those we lie to, we recognize that we would feel betrayed if the roles were reversed.
—Sam Harris (American Neuroscientist, Atheist, Author)

A symphonic conductor should reconcile himself to the realization that, regardless of his approach or temperament, the eventual result is the same — the orchestra will hate him.
—Oscar Levant (American Musician)

There are those who say that when civilization progresses a bit further transportation facilities will move into the skies and under the ground, and that our streets will again be quiet, but I know perfectly well that when that day comes some new device for torturing the old will be invented.
—Tanizaki Jun’ichiro (Japanese Novelist)

Who is rich? He that rejoices in his Portion.
—Benjamin Franklin (American Founding Father, Inventor)

The shy man does have some slight revenge upon society for the torture it inflicts upon him. He is able, to a certain extent, to communicate his misery. He frightens other people as much as they frighten him. He acts like a damper upon the whole room, and the most jovial spirits become, in his presence, depressed and nervous.
—Jerome K. Jerome (English Humorist, Novelist)

The first step to knowledge is to know that we are ignorant.
—Richard Cecil

Of a great spirit is moderation in prosperity.
—Seneca the Elder (Marcus Annaeus Seneca) (Roman Rhetorician)

When death finally comes, you will welcome it like an old friend, aware of how dreamlike and impermanent the whole phenomenal world really is.
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan Buddhist Teacher)

Knowledge humanizes mankind, and reason inclines to mildness, but prejudices eradicate every tender disposition.
—Montesquieu (French Political Philosopher)

The sense of unhappiness is so much easier to convey than that of happiness. In misery we seem aware of our own existence, even though it may be in the form of a monstrous egotism: this pain of mine is individual, this nerve that winces belongs to me and to no other. But happiness annihilates us: we lose our identity.
—Graham Greene (British Novelist)

A library card is the start of a lifelong adventure.
—Lilian Jackson Braun (American Mystery Novelist)

Life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference and it is important to see what is invisible to others.
—Robert Frank (Swiss-American Photographer)

You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?
—Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese-born American Philosopher)

Obviously crime pays, or there’d be no crime.
—G. Gordon Liddy (American Lawyer)

Loving-kindness and compassion are the basis for wise, powerful, sometimes gentle, and sometimes fierce actions that can really make a difference—in our own lives and those of others.
—Sharon Salzberg (Buddhist Teacher)

But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.
—Viktor Frankl (Austrian Psychiatrist)

Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.
—Herodotus (Ancient Greek Historian)

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
—Bert Williams (American Entertainer)

Create all the happiness you are able to create: remove all the misery you are able to remove. Every day will allow you to add something to the pleasure of others, or to diminish something of their pains. And for every grain of enjoyment you sow in the bosom of another, you shall find a harvest in your own bosom; while every sorrow which you pluck out from the thoughts and feelings of a fellow creature shall be replaced by beautiful peace and joy in the sanctuary of your soul.
—Jeremy Bentham (British Philosopher, Economist)

Honesty is the best image.
—Tom Wilson (American Cartoonist)

In youth one has tears without grief; in age, griefs without tears.
—Philibert Joseph Roux (French Surgeon)