“If you always do what you always did –

you’ll always get what you always got.”

Unknown

(This gem of advice could have come from any mother to her child who will not learn from past mistakes.)

The world, said Horace Walpole, is a tragedy to him who feels, and a comedy to him who thinks.

During the American Civil War the very men Confederates were trying to kill could not help honoring them. On hearing the news that Jackson had been killed at Chancellorsville, Union General Gouverneur Warren wrote, “I rejoice at Stonewall Jackson’s death as a gain to our cause, yet in my soldier’s heart I cannot but see him the best soldier of all this war, and grieve his untimely end.”

“Youth is wasted on the young.”

The source of this quote is discussed here quoteinvestigator.com

As we age, the wisdom of this quote becomes more apparent. With almost endless energy and plenty of wasted time spent on stupid stuff, the young have little concept of how short their lifetimes are, while some of us older folks watch and are wistful, remembering all the time we wasted when young.

“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”

from “Song of Myself” By Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

My big brother quoted this to me one time when I was a kid, using large hand and arm gestures as he did so. Impressed, I looked into who Whitman was and have been trying to finish “Leaves of Grass” ever since.

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.

Helen Keller (1880-1968)

“The great thing about suicide is that it’s not one of those things you have to do now or you loose your chance. I mean, you can always do it later.”

Harvey Fierstein

“The only reason I have lived so long is that I let go of my past. Shut the door on grief on regret on remorse.”

Lucia Berlin (1936 – 2004)

More about Lucia Berlin: https://www.vice.com/en/article/saint-lucia-a-roundtable-on-writer-lucia-berlin-0817/

I usually shy away from cussing in this blog, but this quote from Arnold resonates with me and I think it should be read intact, as spoken:

Q: You seem pretty Zen now. So what gets under your skin?

A: We all know the rules of life: Hardship and struggle makes you stronger. So I always look forward to discomfort. Why do I go skiing in Aspen for three days in high altitude that wipes you out? Because it’s tough to do, especially at my age. Everyone is talking about their feelings. That’s OK if that’s how you want to occupy yourself. How I feel is irrelevant. I don’t give a fuck how I feel. What I care about is: What can I do to make it better? Sometimes I get out of bed and feel shitty. But I get on a bike or go feed the animals and suddenly I feel great. This country was not built by people feeling good. This country was built by people working their asses off. We have to work our ass off and stop worrying about feelings. Just swallow it. If you feel shitty, don’t think, just do things.

Arnold Schwarzenegger