Quotes

Scientists can account for the organization of the physical universe. They can trace how the individual things and forces within it causally interact. They can shed light on how the universe as a whole has, in the course of its history, evolved from one state into another. But when it comes to the ultimate origin of reality, they have nothing to say. That is an enigma best left to metaphysics, or to theology, or to poetic wonderment, or to silence.

— Jim Holt from book “Why does the world exist?”

The thing that’s very clear is that when people hear information that comports with whatever their tribe believes, or whatever their tribe supports, they’re willing to accept it without doing a lot of digging into the quality of the source, the quality of the information, the implications of the rest of the information that goes with it. Anything that challenges what their tribe believes they are going to be more dismissive of whether or not it comes from a quality source

— Todd Simkin

Flowers and leaves are just like people, really…

— Byeong-man Jo, 98 year old husband in documentary movie “My Love, Don’t Cross That River” 1 hour 15 minutes in

”… Come spring, the leaf sprouts.

Come summer, it grows big, soaking up the rain.

By autumn, the frost makes them fall, though.

People are no different.

We’re young, like sprouting leaves.

Then we bloom.

If we could stay in bloom forever, it’d be great but with age we begin to wither and then we fall.

And that’s the end. After the fall, there isn’t much else.”

What are we all searching for?

”When it comes to our dreams, each of us seems to be searching for something rather different. Some are chasing a long-held ambition – to become a famous author, or pianist, or bottle-cap collector. Others are searching for the perfect partner with whom they can raise a family. There are those who aspire to great wealth and luxury, while others who yearn for modest simplicity. Still more may be pursuing particular emotional states: to become calmer, less timid, or more present in the world.  

Yet, though our dreams look different on the surface, at heart, all of us are searching for pretty much the same thing. The Greeks called this quality eudaimonia: variously translated as ‘fulfillment’ or ‘flourishing. It is the sense that we have achieved our purpose in life; that our particular combination of talents and drives have attained their most ideal end. It’s feeling like we have found our fitting place in the cosmos. 

Achieving eudaimonia is no simple task: most of us will spend our lives embarked upon the search. Yet our search is more likely to bear fruit if we begin by investing in two key areas: self-knowledge and resilience. Namely, by gaining a deeper awareness of our personal sources of meaning, and building up the emotional strength required to achieve it.”

— School of Life (link)

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