Wow, I'm really happy with how this is turning out, thanks for adding to the thread everyone!
It’s not really a pearl, more of a slightly shiny stone. I meant to put this in a thread that was asking about it; but I completely forgot about it. It has to do with self-delusion and its innately fragile state. The nature of self-delusion is that it requires an almost closed system; where in all new information has to be filtered. This is a fatal flaw, if either a singular strong adverse reaction or a continuous stream of adverse reactions happens it will ultimately break the delusion. So while you might not be any happier striped of self-delusion, you will be infinitely stronger standing firm where the delusional will falter, and picking up the pieces from such a shattering is a horrible experience. I will also add that striped of delusion leaves you with a sense of serenity as though you stand on solid ground able to weather any storm.
Gee, that's a lot to unpack! I think that's a great insight though, and especially important for an e9 like me to realize, as I tend to spend a lot of time on Gumdrop Mountain. Self-delusion just isn't practical. This one takes a lot of courage to really live out, though.
You don't only live once, you live every day. However, you only die once.
Be comfortable in your own skin, no one else will be
That's a much better way of looking at things. You only live once is a very short-sighted philosophy. When you frame it as living everyday, it not only encourages us to be active and live it up everyday, but it also encourages us to live in ways that don't ruin our future enjoyment of life. Maybe we can make YODO catch on!
Have some of my favorite Gandhi quotes/teachings:
1.)"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
2.)"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave."
3.)"If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide."
4.)"Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment."
The longer I've been around, the more important #1 seems. #2 explains my inability to love (I partially jest). #3 is dark but very true to my experience. #4 is a great rebuttal to Machiavelli. That Gandhi guy, he had a few good ideas knocking around in that old skull of his.
Thanks for these Double L!
From my mom:
You've got a 'no', but a 'yes' you can get - literal translation from Dutch, meaning 'don't be afraid to ask for what you want and potentially change that no into a yes - people just might surprise ya.'
Ooh, I'm still struggling to use this in my everyday life. I often screw myself over, rather than risk upsetting someone slightly by pushing for a yes. Also, am I the only one who finds the translation of sayings very interesting. It's delicate work, methinks.
'don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.' - cc.
That's a good one. Who's cc?
Do not attempt to rub the belly of strange cats, no matter how cute they look.
Awww, that's no fun haha
I learned that one the hard way too. Thanks for sharing!
