"You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book… or you take a trip… and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken."
— Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934
kellyoxford:
From Arise India Forum:
“For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.
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(Source: t.co, via soupsoup)
"I don’t think you can “talk out” this sort of thing. Dialogue is overrated. It’s not the world’s job to make you a more understanding person. We give too much credit to conversation, and not enough to contemplation."
—
Ta-Nehisi Coates on defenses of Rick Perry’s ‘Niggerhead’ ranch.
Honest contemplation of the harm caused by one’s words and deeds would probably fix at least 75% of this country’s race problem. The tricky part is that racial privilege is sustained precisely by thoughtlessness and the refusal to be considerate of people who are not like you.
"Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own."
—
Bruce Lee (via nezua)
Tailor-made advice for bloggers.
(Source: thespartanwarrior, via nezua)
