Pondering

[TassieBabesFiasco]

Not having a great day - thought would have a gander at some of the readings I collect. Thought might share a couple that I keep together that always stand out to me....

The Strenuous Life, Theodore Roosevelt, April 10, 1899

"...Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twighlight that knows not victory of defeat..."

Then the other one is:

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wild (1890)

"...It is better not to be different from one's fellows. The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. They can sit at their ease and gape at the play. If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat. They live as we all should live, undisturbed, indifferent and without disquiet. They neither bring ruin upon others, nor receive it from alien hands..."

When I read these I do the old compare and contrast - then figure where I am sitting between the two philosophies at a given moment.

Was interested if other people have a particular quote or story they read when they need to give themselves a kick in the backside ?

[FH]

Incidentally, I draw numerous inspirations from the writings of Oscar Wilde.  

But one that hasn't failed yet to keep me going is printed on my MRT stored-value card:
"Problems are nothing but wake-up calls for creativity"

[WellYeah]

Oscar Wilde is unique in the canon of Western thought and literature, as he is regarded (and I agree) as being 1) completely brilliant, and 2) awful.  I like to think that he would have rather enjoyed this response to his works.  Notice, the picture of Dorian Gray and The Dubliners, but how many of his other works can many even recall??  They are forgettable, to say the least.

Plato, in quoting Socrates, while being completely self centered and egotistal about life, as he learned and propogated himself, quoted Socrates as saying, " The unexamined life is not worth living." While I hope to never achieve that level of pride to say something like that to all people, I would say it does make life more interesting, and worthwhile for some....it certainly fits for me, but for others I cannot and dare not say.  I leave you, Tassie,  with a quote that I like very much.

There is a purity beyond our norm, an understanding beyond our comprehension, and a movement beyond perception that speaks the hidden truth, walks the ancient paths, and sings out for the wise.  In these things I fall silent and alone,  in these things my eyes steal from me, my heart deceives me, and my life is forfeit to itself.  In these things and more, I am human, and gladly so.

[Purrfect Purrson]

WellYeah, The Selfish Giant is one. A short story, nice in a soppy way.

[Purrfect Purrson]

"It is right for a gull to fly. Freedom is the very nature of his being. And anything that stands in the way of that freedom - be it ritual, superstition or limitation in any form - must be set aside." From 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'.

Another one, ditto: "You are free to go where you wish and to be what you are."

And (concerning a gull with a broken wing): "Are you saying I can fly?" "I say you are free."

From the following book 'Illusions': "The world is your exercise book, the pages on which you do your sums. It is not reality, although you can express reality there if you wish. You are also free to write nonsense, or lies, or to tear the pages."

[This message has been edited by Purrfect Purrson (edited 15-11-2001).]