You can’t resent other people because you let yourself down. But you can try.
—John Tottenham
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No one should be burdened with the “failure” label just for playing their hand in the grand game of life. It’s undeniable that some people have the fortune to start with a strong hand, graced with physical beauty, social grace, or remarkable talents. Or, perhaps, they simply emerged from the right door, under the right star.
Bimbo Ubermensch
The Ocean -
We all have value.
We all contribute. We all give back—if not through paid work, then as part of the human ecosystem.
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However, I know that it is not because of your strength, your long hours of studying, or your own understanding that you passed this milestone, but it was through God’s great strength and blessings that you succeeded. Do you also believe this?
—Fr. Mina the Hermit (Pope Kyrillos VI) to his nephew Hegumen Philemon Labib
via Pope Kyrillos: The Patron and Beloved of the Children, Fr. Rafael Ava Mina
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I fell silent, with a sense of satiety, of futility. I might, I reflected, go on questioning my mother for hours and still not come to a conclusion about anything: her life, and she herself, had by now attained a degree of utter meaninglessness which amounted, in the long run, to a sort of mystery at the same time both dull and impenetrable.
Boredom
Alberto Moravia -
Consider watching through a window as a family enjoys a home-cooked meal. You might imagine how it feels to be part of this group—their warmth and happiness, their sense of belonging as they pass dishes back and forth. Now imagine being part of this family. Maybe you do feel warmth and happiness, but those feelings are much more complex, less tidy. What came before the dinner? What comes after? Are you actually present, or thinking about something else? Your family is not a snapshot or a concept; it’s messy, in flux, evolving. It has depth and continuity. No matter how lovely the dinner is in reality, it can never really live up to what the observer imagines. Because what they imagine is actually just a symbol—an idea they’ve adapted from TV, movies, and marketing their entire lives about what it means to be part of a happy family.
#187: Drowning in envy
Haley Nahman
SO GOOD QUOTES 