Wednesday, December 10, 2008
"Think like a man of action. Act like a man of thought."
One of my great joys is discovering quotes. I find great power in the words of people that have gone before me. I truly enjoy reading and thinking over things said by intelligent people. I sometimes sit at my computer for hours just searching quote sites. It was during one of these oratorical spelunking expeditions that I discovered my titular quote. It was given to me by Henri Louis Bergson. I say the French philosopher gave this quote to me because in all the time I've been looking, no quote has ever meant so much to me as quickly as this one has. So I can only deduce that it was meant specifically for me. In short, this is the man I aspire to be. For me it's the first part that I have had the most difficulty with up to this point in my life. My ideals have been fairly passive, accepting the things that come my way as being the things that were meant for me. Instead of actively making choices to improve myself and my lot in life. I have learned that you must have a plan and not be afraid to takes steps towards it's completion. The turning point for me (and this is still a work in progress) was finally believing that I deserve to be happy and should have a real life. But I love the balance this quote offers! I think peoples actions should be well thought out. It should be evident by the way you live that you have the ability to reason. The people I respect most are intelligent, thoughtful people who are proactive about their lives. I intend to count myself in that number. This is a goal I've given myself.
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Killer quote. I have always been partial to the "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" quote. If this is your one life to live, wouldn't you want to live it fully. Squeeze every last experience from it? Be fully aware that you are ALIVE. You earn your blissful feeling of happiness through contrast. Unless you taste the bitter you cannot appreciate the sweet (I looked that up and could not find who said this but it fits here- probably from Fight Club or something). You have no idea what real happiness is until you experience it all. This means that you have to experience EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN. Say YES! Take that leap. Pick up that coin, heads or tails and be grateful for even the smallest gifts. If you want it, no matter how big, go out and find a way to get it. Even if you don't get the "it" that you though you needed, the pursuit will lead you to the "it" that you need. 'You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need" - the Rolling Stones. Until you do, you are not really living, your are only existing. The lessons are in the journey. Some times the path is straight and clear, most times it's foggy and bumpy. But you will never know where it leads until you trudge on down the road. "A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step"- Lao-tzu. Become a snowball that picks up every shiny object along the way. There are about a billion analogies you could make to say the same thing. LIVE Brian, LIVE!! Do you hear my inspirational voice ringing in your ears??? I was feeling inspired by what you wrote and thought I would rant. Poor Tobin, he doesn't have a chance. I like quotes too. It's been a while.
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