Professional Documents
Culture Documents
…does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he
cares sufficiently; but he is willing in great crisis, to give even his life, knowing that under
certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live…to confer kindness is a mark of superiority.
He does not take part in public displays…He is open in his dislikes and preferences, he
talks and acts frankly…He is never fired with admiration….he cannot live in complaisance
with others, except it be a friend…he is not fond of talking….It is no concern of his that he
should be praised, or that others should be blamed. He does not speak evil of others, even
of his enemies, unless it be to themselves. His carriage is sedate, his voice deep, his
speech measured, he is not given to hurry, for he is concerned about only a few things; he
is not prone to vehemence, for he thinks nothing is very important. He bears the accidents
of his life with dignity and grace, making the best of his circumstances like a skillful
general who marshals his limited forces with all the strategy of war. He is his own best
friend and takes delight in privacy, whereas a man of no virtue or ability is his own enemy
and is afraid of solitude.
Aristotle:
Happiness represented activity, the quest for excellence. In order to do things and do
them well, to prosper and to flourish, certain skills were needed. Excellence led to
success. Whether in pursuit of moral virtue or in the exercise of reason, happiness was in
a life of activity or activities that were undertaken for their own sake. Happiness, for
Aristotle, was not a state of mind or feeling, but referred to the quality of life in the
organized and active expression of one’s powers and capacities. In other words, it was
Happiness was identified with Good, identified as the object of human endeavor.
The human brain consists of a large number (approximately 10 power
11) of highly interconnected elements (approximately 10 power 4
connections per element) called neurons.
In the later stages of life the changes in the neural network consist
mainly of strengthening and weakening of the connections.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by
narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards
perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into
the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee to ever-widening
thought and action -
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country
awake.
--- by Rabindranath Tagore
--Waking Life.
Things that did not achieve closure will haunt you. --- Zeigarnik effect
THE ALCHEMIST
When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that
person to realize his dream.
You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he
abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love…. The love that speaks the
Language of the World.
http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Mind-in-the-Making1.html
True Power
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask
ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are
you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not
just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we consciously
give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our
presence automatically liberates others.
"The criminal and the soldier at least have the virtue of being against something or for
something in a world where many people have learned to accept a kind of grey
nothingness, to strike an unreal series of poses in order to be considered normal.... It's
difficult to say who is engaged in the greater conspiracy--the criminal, the soldier, or us."
--Stanley Kubrick
One effect of moving an animal from the wild to a
cage is to remove it from a rich and varied environment,
this may cause it to indulge in one activity to an abnormal
degree to compensate for other activities that are no longer possible.
he said: "I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good
and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His
universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws."
Einstein
The next ball that you are going to bowl or field is the most important part of your life ~
Adam Gilchrist
"It is not in the nature of man--nor of any living entity--to start out by
giving up, by spitting in one's own face and damning existence; that
requires a process of corruption whose rapidity differs from man to
man. Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some
run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing
when or how they lost it ... Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing
that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape,
purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their
lives, men seek a noble vision of man's nature and of life's potential ...
It is a sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one's life is
important, that great achievements are within one's capacity, and that
great things lie ahead." [Ayn Rand, Intro to Fountainhead, 1968]