“The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.”
– Sydney J. Harris
“Happiness is like a butterfy. The more you chase it, the faster it will flutter away. It’s when you ignore it, and focus on other things, that it will land in your hand on its own.”
– Unknown
‘We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart’
– Blaise Pascal
“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.”
– Niccolò Machiavelli
“We should stop thinking we don’t deserve success: the universe does not distribute its gifts and its horrors with divinely accurate knowledge of the good and bad within each of us. Most of what we win is not quite deserved – and most of what we suffer isn’t either.”
– Alain De Botton
“Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.”
– George Saunders
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
– Carl Jung
“Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she has laid an asteroid.”
– Mark Twain
“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.”
– Chuck Close
“I like them worn around the edges, those whose hearts have outgrown their bodies.”
– Kim @selfmyths
“We are as forlorn as children lost in the woods. When you stand in front of me and look at me, what do you know of the griefs that are in me and what do I know of yours. And if I were to cast myself down before you and weep and tell you, what more would you know about me than you know about Hell when someone tells you it is hot and dreadful? For that reason alone we human beings ought to stand before one another as reverently, as reflectively, as lovingly, as we would before the entrance to Hell.”
― Franz Kafka
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
– Jonathan Swift
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
– Jim Rohn
“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”
– Iain Thomas
“My best friends in the world, we express our love for each other through a whole lot of shit-taking. Romance is important, but to have a friend you can use as a mirror, who can give you an objective response, that’s what’s really important.”
– Jake Gyllenhaal