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'My middle school English teacher said I'd never be successful.'
Revenge is sweet. Of course the word 'revenge' is far too strong for the by now famous words once uttered by Michael Phelps' teacher, but there is no denying that some things people say to us - many times as nothing more than an offhand remark - can linger somewhere in our mind for a very long time, and will only disappear once we have used them as an incentive for further action.
While the person who has said these words usually has forgotten about them the next instant, we can't get rid of them. Roughly speaking, the effect can be twofold. The words can become an obsession and as such hinder us in our achievements, thereby only causing more frustration. The opposite happens when they inspire us, more for ourselves than for the person who uttered them and doesn't have a clue what he or she has set into motion.
Of course, we can be obnoxious and cause someone to speak words that may hit us like a hammer. But whatever the cause, when we take in what has been said, think about it, reflect, and set ourselves a goal with dedication, we avoid the path of obsession and can only grow much stronger, in whichever way that may be.
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'Look beneath the surface: never let a thing's intrinsic quality or worth escape you.'
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) wrote his famous Meditations during his campaigns against the barbarians. This is of course a most unlikely scene for such well-thought reflections, and it is even more remarkable if you consider how composed and nuanced his ideas are, characteristic for the Stoic school in philosophy he was part of.
The Meditations is one of the books I usually advise those who like to get into philosophy but don't know where to start. I am not saying too much when I say that this great little book can easily move you through a day that initially dreaded you for its boredom, routine, annoyance or sheer madness you were going to find on your way. Read a few of Marcus Aurelius' thoughts before you go to sleep or before you go to work, use a little click inside of your head whenever you think you might lose the plot because of the 'interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will or selfishness' (Book 2; 1) you undoubtedly will find on your path sometime during the day or night. Really, there is no better remedy for the soul than the Meditations.
I just came across the above quote and it struck me because in everyday life I see so many examples of the opposite. People are hardly willing to look beneath the surface when they meet not just a thing, but also a new person or an unfamiliar situation. The attractive element in refraining from looking beneath the surface lies in the short term gain; the - very human - fascination for gossip that prevents you from making your own opinion of a situation or person, and the desire to belong to a larger group. However, in the end all are losers if you stick to this routine, as it mostly creates negativity upon negativity.
I say this based upon my own experience, but I'm sure many readers know what I am talking about. Of course you can rely on your first impression if experience has shown that you will gain a lot by doing so, but don't let your ideas be distracted by what others think. Above all; follow Marcus Aurelius' words and try to look beneath the surface; you'll be amazed at what you may find.
The Meditations are easily available through Penguin Classics.
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[When his director invites him for a game of golf]
"When I want to play with a prick, I'll play with my own."
In my first post after I'd taken over this blog, I said I would try to refrain as much as possible from copying/pasting, but here I am, with a quote by the (in)famous W.C. Fields that can be found all over the Internet. However, this one is too good to be missed and whenever I mention this quote to someone, I notice few people have ever heard it before and I have to admit that it wasn't amongst the most famous W.C. Fields quotes I was familiar with before I really got into his ever so wonderful oneliners and wisecracks.
Most websites mentioning this quote say that Fields used it for someone he didn't like, but the first time I came upon this quote, the additional information provided was that he used it to a director he was working with at the time. I prefer this version, as it shows W.C. Fields' uniqueness as well as his plain contempt for anyone he didn't like, no matter whether he was dependent upon them workwise. And even though I am not 100% sure that it matches the reality of his life, I simply like to think it does.
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“Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years. Lady Dumbelton is an instance in point. To my own knowledge, she has been thirty-five ever since she arrived at the age of forty, which was many years ago now.”
Oscar Wilde – The importance of Being Earnest (1895
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Dear Reader,
This weblog has a new webmaster. From this week onwards I will start adding posts to this blog, true to the title 'Famous Quotes'. My intention is to add a quote, followed by a few paragraphs outlining my thoughts on that quote, or just some interesting background about where the quote originates from, how it became so famous etc
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There is no artist with such an incredible musical output as David Bowie, period 1969 (Space Oddity, the song and the album) to 1980 (Scary Monsters - side 2 is one of the best sides Bowie ever produced, shame about side 1 with that horrible Fashion that destroys it all). The critics may have steered away from Bowie over the years - not that strange considering some of his horrible 80's work - but for me Bowie is still an everyday reality. Hardly a day passes without Bowie. And even though I always claim Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust as my all time favorites, with - of course - Heroes as the best ever Bowie song, there is one album I have played more than the rest over the past years.
Young Americans is Bowie's little gem, an album so near perfection that I continue to discover new things. The I-pod age has made me rediscover Tony Visconti's magnificent production and the essential role the horn section plays on this album. Especially the saxophone is all-defining on songs like Somebody up there likes me and the album's best track Right. But most of all; listen to that voice. It's hard to believe that there are only two years between Ziggy and Young Americans
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Fortunately there are still women calling themselves 'feminists' and fully living up to this title.
Fadela Amara is the French Secretary of State in the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy. It was a clever tactic of the President to ask this socialist politician to join his cabinet
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In yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, I came across a small article on Shakira Hussein, who did fieldwork amongst the women of Pakistan for her PhD. In Australia, Shakira Hussein is a prominent figure in debates on Islam-related issues and as such I always appreciate her participation, even though I mostly disagree with her. What I like about Shakira Hussein is her style of debating, which - as far as I have seen it - is calm, stressing her points of view, well argumented and without reverting to the cheap overuse of the r-words - 'racism' and 'right-wing'.
However, In the article I read yesterday (for those who have the SMH; see page 38), I came across some lines that immediately raised some question marks
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'The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things, or, if it is night, about nothing at all.'
'It is amazing how much both happiness and efficiency can be increased by the cultivation of an orderly mind, which thinks about a matter adequately at the right time rather than inadequately at all times
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'To disguise nothing, to conceal nothing, to write about those things that are closest to our pain; to write about my sexual clumsiness, the agonies of Tantalus, the depth of my discouragement - I seem to glimpse it in my dreams - my despair. To write about the foolish agonies of anxiety, the refreshment of our strength when these are ended; to write about our painful search for self, jeopardized by a stranger in the post office, a half-seen face in a train window; to write about the continents and populations of our dreams, about love and death, good and evil, the end of the world.'
John Cheever - 'Journals
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