Asklemmy

No matter how many books , videos you see , you cannot learn how to swim without entering the pool.

We have liberated Europe from fascism, but they will never forgive us for it

• Marshal Georgy Zhukov

I don't necessarily think it's underrated because it's the underpinning of a major religion, but;

Existence is suffering.

The first noble truth of Buddhism that I don't think enough people really grasp.

On first read, those three words sound like an angsty teen being all sad, but a deeper exploration tells us that to expect a life of ease and unending contentment is to set ourselves up for continued disappointment and anguish.

When I first really absorbed the meaning of this it actually made me feel incredible. I am alive, therefore my knee hurts. I am alive, so I'm worried for the welfare of those I love. And when I considered it even further I began to understand that this is something that connects us all, regardless of our status in the world. From the most powerful kings and presidents to those sleeping rough begging for change; we are all fundamentally the same.

For me, it's really helped me to push through boundaries that have stopped me being more assertive with those who are more powerful than I am; managers, bosses and such. My boss worries about stuff the same way I do. It's probably different stuff, sure, but he's still experiencing existential pain.

I am not a Buddhist, nor am I particularly spiritual. But I take a lot of inspiration from that phrase.

Dad told me when I was young to "learn to drink your coffee black and cold and you'll never be disappointed."

I don't think he was just talking about coffee.

A evergreen quote:

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

"Like they should have stopped Hitler at Munich, they should never let him get away with that, they was just asking for bad trouble." Peter Clemenza, The Godfather

“It only ever ends once, everything before that is just progress” -Jacob from lost lol

Life's tough for everyone

-Grandpa

"Don't follow people - follow ideas" which seems more relevant today than ever before it seems.

"Nobody will take care of you if you don't take care of yourself"

Apply this to pushing back on contracts, double checking what you're asked to do, and putting yourself first, and you'll get a lot more respect in my experience. If you primarily put others first, your self will feel neglected. It doesn't mean you should not care for others, but that your highest priority should be yourself, and then others.

Perhaps today is a good day to die. Prepare for ramming speed!

Hitchens on the death of Jerry Falwell: "If they gave his corpse an enema, they could bury him in a matchbox."

No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

"republicans are pussies" - me. thanks

"Someone once said that love is the best medicine. He was wrong, though; its crack." Source Unknown

"be someones angel"

quote from this little video that really stuck with me, as silly as it might sound

https://youtu.be/Ib2bt28in1c

Wen in dbt breath deep

It’s always darkest before the dawn.

How I interpret it is that when things get bad, and reach a new level of bad, that could be just what is needed for the pendulum to swing the other way, and swing extra hard.

Kind of like a Great Depression giving labour laws kind of a thing.

Gives me hope.

The worst decisions make the best stories. - Unknown

Hold on tightly, let go lightly.

The Croupier in Croupier.

It doesn't come with extra instructions, so it means what I want it to mean and someone else may have it mean something else entirely. For me it means hold on to the important things tightly while they are important and when they aren't then it is time to let them and other things go.

Don't carry things that don't need to be held onto, especially if you can't control them. I hold onto the memories of my sister both good and bad, I embrace the pain of her not being here anymore when they come, then I let the pain go because I keep ahold of the happiness she brought into people's lives while she was here.

You can't leave the party if you can't find the door. Randall Jacobs, aka Uncle Bunky

obituary, worth reading