Two Thoughts (10 - 16 December)
Sunday, 10 December
Two thoughts from George Gurdjieff
"A miracle is not the breaking of physical laws, but rather represents laws which are incomprehensible to us."
"The first reason for people's slavery is our ignorance, and above all, our ignorance of ourselves."
Monday, 11 December
Two thoughts from John Lewis Gaddis
“Assuming stability is one of the ways ruins get made. Resilience accommodates the unexpected.”
“Common sense, in this sense, is like oxygen: the higher you go, the thinner it gets.”
Tuesday, 12 December
Two thoughts from Richie Norton
“Opportunities will come and go, but if you do nothing about them, so will you.”
“You can overcome your circumstances or you can let your circumstances overcome you.”
Wednesday, 13 December
Two thoughts from Irvin D. Yalom
"Living safely is dangerous."
"Not to take possession of your life plan is to let your existence be an accident."
Thursday, 14 December
Two thoughts from Amanda Palmer
“Life as it should be: all friends, all art, all music, all love, all the time.”
“And when you’re afraid of someone’s judgment, you can’t connect with them. You’re too preoccupied with the task of impressing them.”
Friday, 15 December
Two thoughts from Chris Hadfield
“Good leadership means leading the way, not hectoring other people to do things your way.”
“If you start thinking that only your biggest and shiniest moments count, you’re setting yourself up to feel like a failure most of the time.”
Saturday, 16 December
Two thoughts from Alasdair MacIntyre
“All power tends to coopt, and absolute power coopts absolutely.”
“we are never more (and sometimes less) than the co-authors of our own narratives.”
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The though from Alasdair MacIntyre
“All power tends to coopt, and absolute power coopts absolutely.”
is a variation of Elias Canetti's finding with the same structure but with "corrupt" instead of "coopt", which is a bit stronger and more to the point imho.