Reminders for myself
“The more you become a connoisseur of gratitude, the less you are a victim of resentment, depression, and despair. Gratitude will act as an elixir that will gradually dissolve the hard shell of your ego–your need to possess and control—and transform you into a generous being. The sense of gratitude produces true spiritual alchemy, makes us magnanim... See more
Estée Lauder on seizing the moments in life that matter the most:
“In every life there is a moment—an event or a realization-that changes that life irrevocably. If the change is to be a happy one, one must be able to recognize the moment and seize it without delay. Rose Kennedy once told me that good luck is something you make and bad luck is someth
This is the story of every new software innovation, and in fact, just about everything engineers have ever created.
The first Wright Bros. plane just barely flew.
The first version of VisiCalc was just barely useful.
The earliest bridges were shaky, unreliable and made of vines.
The secret of successful product development isn’t an
... See moreDiscovery and invention
Isaac Newton didn’t invent gravity. It was there all along. He simply named and explained it.
The same is true for planets, continents and obscure species. They’re discovered, not invented.
Michelangelo talked about removing all the parts of the marble that weren’t the statue on his way to creating great art. Discovery is like
... See more“The advice I like to give anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to do an awful lot of work.
All the best ideas come out of the process
... See more“Your job, throughout your entire life, is to disappoint as many people as it takes to avoid disappointing yourself.”
— Glennon Doyle
This is how we should approach life’s hardships, finding possibility where we can: the prospect of flourishing despite infirmity, of finding one’s way through loneliness, failure, grief, confronting the injustice and absurdity of the world. The question is not whether we should hope, but what we should hope for.
Kieran Setiya • What’s the Use of Hope?
If we all carry a little of the burden, it will be lightened. If we share in the suffering of the world, then some will not have to endure so heavy an affliction. It evens out.
— Dorothy Day in Dorothy Day: Selected Writings by Robert Ellsberg, Dorothy Day
Here is a blessing I wrote for a friend who had lost 100 lbs and was struggling with the change:
A blessing for a friend to offer her body
For the ways you have carried me through every day since I was born, I offer my gratitude.
For the pleasure you have given me, I praise you.
For the pain you have endured for me, I respect you.
For the protection you
... See more