Dan Levy
Wardrobe is probably the most important element in storytelling, outside of actually writing, because we, as people, say so much about who we are and what we believe in, and what we want, and what we think of ourselves by the way that we dress.
Alan Watts
What happens if you know that there is nothing you can do to be better? It's kind of a relief, isn't it? You say "Well, now what do I do?" When you are freed from being out to improve yourself, your own nature will begin to take over.
Alan Watts
Consciousness is a radar that is scanning the environment to look out for trouble, in the same way that a ship's radar is looking for rocks or other ships. The radar does not notice the vast amount of space where there are no rocks and other ships. By and large we scan things over but we pay attention only to what our set of values tells us we should pay attention to.
Alan Watts
We've run into a cultural situation where we've confused the symbol with the physical reality; the money with the wealth; and the menu with the dinner. And we're starving on eating menus.
Marjorie, Mom S5 E19
- You are not your job
You might not be doing what you want to with your life but that's not anyone's fault. The job isn't who you are. It is just what you're doing on the road to what you're gonna be.
The Daily Stoic
The time that passes, Seneca reminds us, is death. It belongs to death. So why are you rushing? Why are you thinking about the future at the expense of the present? Life is too short to be lived in fast forward. Slow down. Breathe it in. Enjoy it.
The Daily Stoic
Seneca's advice? Why are you borrowing unhappiness? Why would you be miserable now just because you might be in the future? Who has time for anxiety? We should be fortifying ourselves for what may come. Why waste time preferring one outcome to another? We are ready for all of them equally.
The Daily Stoic
To a Stoic, we're only harmed when our character is affected. We're only harmed when we let go of what we believe in or when we drop our own standards. It might not be desirable to lose money or a friend, to fail at something or to be criticised, but how does that make us unfortunate? We haven't been deprived of our ability to respond. Our character remains intact.
The School of Life
- I'm not my body
We might consider our appearance as a banal and ridiculous actor to whom a malevolent casting agent had mysteriously decided to shackle us - and to whom we owe no particular favours or loyalty. We might think of our body as a taxi the universe has rudely shoved us into, not a vehicle we have carefully had the opportunity to choose - and to deserve. Out of such insubordination can come a liberating lightness.
Slavoj Žižek
- typing
In our daily lives, we pretend to desire things which we do not really desire. So that ultimately the worst thing that can happen is for us to get what we officially desire.
