I have found that the greatest degree of inner peace comes from cultivating love and compassion.

Posted on 13 January 2013 by philosiblog

I have found that the greatest degree of inner peace comes from cultivating love and compassion. – Dalai Lama

While the post is primarily about others, everything said also applies to self. Give yourself a break, show some love and compassion to you as well as to others.

While the post is primarily about others, everything said also applies to self. Give yourself a break, show some love and compassion to you as well as to others.

What does that mean?
This quote is about how you feel when you are working on your feelings of love and of compassion. The quote says there is a great deal of inner peace can result from this kind of practice.

Cultivating love and compassion, both for yourself and for others, is something I believe we all can work on. This quote suggests that the practice itself is beneficial as well.

The use of the word cultivate is interesting, as it implies that there is something you do, and something that then needs to grow on its own. Yes, you will help, you will tend, but you do not control or dictate.

I find this quote to be very inspirational, as this quote urges us to reach out, both to ourselves as well as to others. It urges us to develop our best possible selves, and says that we will find a great reward in exchange for our effort; inner peace.

Why is having love and compassion important?  Continue reading →

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Where fear is, happiness is not.

Posted on 12 January 2013 by philosiblog

Where fear is, happiness is not. – Seneca

Does math cause happiness to go away? There are two solutions, avoid math, or master your fear.

Does math cause happiness to go away? There are two solutions, avoid math, or master your fear. Which solution will you pursue?

What does that mean?
This is another of those terse sayings that is fairly self-explanatory. However, for completeness, I believe the quote is reminding us that it is hard to be happy when we are afraid.

Even when at a scary movie, where we expect to feel fear, we are not happy in the moment of fear. Only afterwards, when we know we are safe and the movie is over do we feel the happiness for having had an enjoyable experience, for money well spent.

Most people, I imagine, would prefer a life filled with happiness, rather than a life filled with fear. It’s not a good thing to be stuck in a fearful state, unable to move beyond it to happiness. I know which I would prefer, and I imagine you have a similar preference as well.

Why is moving beyond fear important?  Continue reading →

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Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

Posted on 11 January 2013 by philosiblog

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. – Cicero

There are many ways to show gratitude. Saying Thank You, verbally or in Sign Language is one of them.

There are many ways to show gratitude. Saying Thank You, verbally or in Sign Language is one of them. I’m sure you can come up with many other ways.

What does that mean?
Well, to discuss this, we need some virtues. While each religion and culture have their own take on virtue, hopefully this list will help you get the quote’s idea. Lets start with self-control, fairness, respect, and kindness. You can try this with your favorite virtues.

Each of these are based on gratitude. Can you have:

  • self-control without gratitude for yourself or the effort that went into raising you?
  • fairness without gratitude for how evenly you have been dealt with in the past?
  • respect without gratitude for how others have shown respect for you?
  • kindness without gratitude for how others have treated you in the past?

While some of these questions may seem kind of circular, I believe life is quite circular in nature. I have found that the people who treat others poorly had been treated poorly at some point in their life. They lost the gratitude that comes with being treated well.

Why is gratitude important?  Continue reading →

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Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.

Posted on 10 January 2013 by philosiblog

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye. – Helen Keller

Is this the image you came up with, reading the quote? Probably not, as this is the opposite of what the quote urges us to do.

Is this the image you came up with, reading the quote? Probably not, as this is the opposite of what the quote urges us to do.

What does that mean?
This is an interesting quote, mostly due to the differences in cultures. In the US, looking someone in the eye is a sign of confidence. To not do so, is to look weak or defeated. The same goes for how a person holds their head. Up is showing confidence, down is showing weakness or defeat.

In some cultures, heads are expected to be bowed to some extent (often related to the difference in station or power between the people). The same goes for eye contact. In other cultures eye contact is considered a challenge, and could result in unpleasantness.

This quote is about being firm in your resolve and confident in yourself. In the US, this quote says how to show that confidence. You may need to use different behaviors to make the same statement, but that is the basic point of today’s quote.

Why is having resolve and being confident important?  Continue reading →

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You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing.

Posted on 9 January 2013 by philosiblog

You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing. – Richard Nixon

Winning or losing, don't lose your cool.

Winning or losing, don’t lose your cool. If you lose, use the loss to help you focus on winning next time, and never ever take it out on others. Isn’t that what we tell the kids?

What does that mean?
This is another Twitter-shortened version of a quote. A longer version is: “You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing. But the mark of the good loser is that he takes his anger out on himself and not his victorious opponents or on his teammates.”

There are lots of reasons to want to win. This quote reminds us of one of them. Losing is not very pleasant. As a politician in a two-party system, losing meant you went home until the next election. While that gives you time to consider what went wrong, it’s the most pleasant of times.

The longer version of the quote finishes with an admonition to be a good sport about it. Even if the other guy cheated, it was up to you to win, and you didn’t. Even if your team let you down, it was up to you to make things happen, and things just didn’t.

It’s easy to be kind in victory, easy to heap praise on the loser and on your team. But in defeat, how you treat others is a true test of your character. It’s not something you want to fail at, no matter how badly things went.

Why is being a good sport important?  Continue reading →

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Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.

Posted on 8 January 2013 by philosiblog

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away. – Elvis Presley

Even with shutters (or blinds), the sun will eventually get through.

Even with shutters (or blinds), the sun will eventually find a way to get through. I recommend you go with the truth from the beginning.

What does that mean?
I’m not sure if he invented this one, or if it’s a bit of folk wisdom, handed down for generations. But it is catchy, and it is quite true. Many people have been brought down by truths they thought they had shuttered away forever.

But the truth won’t stay hidden forever. Information turns up from time to time. Evidence surfaces. Tongues wag. People put things together. And eventually, the truth emerges. Even if slowly and in drips and drabs, it will find its way out.

This is both a truism, and a warning. It warns us that, eventually, the truth will catch up to us. It’s a warning to stick to the truth, and avoid lies and other untruths. It’s a warning to do what is right the first time, and every time. Because if you don’t, it will eventually catch up to you.

Why is integrity important?  Continue reading →

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He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.

Posted on 7 January 2013 by philosiblog

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe. – Marcus Aurelius

This is one of many ways one can attempt to find harmony within.

This is one way one can attempt to find harmony within. Have you tried to be at harmony with yourself lately?

What does that mean?
I find this quote interesting due to how it turns the outside (the universe) to the inside (within one’s self). To me, the quote makes the universe a mirror of ourselves. When we are at harmony with ourselves, the universe is in harmony with us as well.

The opposite has also been seen. Those who are ill at ease with themselves are the ones who end up taking their anger, hurt, and uneasy feelings out on others. As good rarely comes of that, I would have to recommend that we find ways to come to grips with ourselves, and try to live in harmony with ourselves.

The vast majority of us are largely in harmony with ourselves, but often have a few rough edges. Learning how to come to grips with those last few loose ends may help us become more in harmony with ourselves than we have ever been in our lives. I think it’s worth a try, do you?

Why is knowing yourself important?  Continue reading →

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Sorry, no new post today.

Posted on 6 January 2013 by philosiblog

Sorry, no new post today.

Sorry, but the holiday backlog is exhausted, and I am as well. There will be no new post today, but I will get back into it for tomorrow. In the mean time, there are plenty of posts to read, including the following from the Dalai Lama.

Until tomorrow…

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Modesty forbids what the law does not.

Posted on 5 January 2013 by philosiblog

Modesty forbids what the law does not. – Seneca

While it's not illegal, it certainly isn't nice.

While it’s not illegal, it’s not nice to take the last of the coffee. Do the right thing

What does that mean?
Whether you call it modesty, correct behavior, or something else, this quote is about doing the right thing. This is separate, or at least it is often different from what the law says we are required to do, or forbidden to do. And doing the right thing is about having character.

There are plenty of times when things that are legal to do are simply not the best thing to do. As an example, I’ll use my favorite target for abuse, smoking. In many places it is still legal to smoke. However, that does not mean it is necessarily a good thing to do, or the right thing to do.

To take the quote a little more exactly (based on this particular translation), in most places it’s not illegal to run around in just your underwear. However, one would hope that modesty would prevent you from doing so, at least on a regular basis.

Why is doing the right thing important?  Continue reading →

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The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.

Posted on 4 January 2013 by philosiblog

The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it. – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.

Knowing what to do, that's the easy part.

Knowing what to do, that’s the easy part. Getting up the nerve to do it, well…

What does that mean?
I was reminded of this quote in a recent e-mail exchange. The discussion included the many tough choices that the person being discussed made, and how they (in my opinion) chose to do the right thing in each case, despite the difficulty. So many people end up choosing the wrong thing, when they know better, only because they decide to take the easy path.

This quote has two parts to it. The first part is the knowing, or not knowing, what is the proper thing to do. The second is acting on that knowledge. As the quote says, the first part is the easy part for most of us. It’s the second part that is often the more difficult.

And that, I believe, is what the quote is warning us about. It’s easy enough to know what to do, but are we strong enough to do it? Are we willing to do what is necessary, to bear the burdens or challenges which the right decision will bring?

Why is having the strength to do the right thing important?  Continue reading →

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True love is like a fine wine, the older the better.

Posted on 3 January 2013 by philosiblog

True love is like a fine wine, the older the better. – Fred Jackob

Have some fun! Not every glass of wine is to be drunk.

Have some fun! Not every glass of wine is to be drunk.

What does that mean?
While I’m no connoisseur, I do like the occasional glass of wine. What I have been told is that the flavor of a good batch of grapes takes time to properly develop, and that’s one of the reasons why a wine can take quite some time to get to it’s best possible flavor.

Without going into all the details of wine making (which are available here), the point is that rushing the process, while possible, isn’t always a good idea. While wine is a grape sugar fueled alcohol, there are thousands of other chemicals in the mix, all of which impact the final flavor.

Similarly, true love takes time to develop. As wine is more than just the grape juice and alcohol, true love is more than just passion. There are subtle and complex aspects to each which take time to develop. To me, that is what the quote is describing.

Why is the aging process in a relationship important?  Continue reading →

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Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.

Posted on 2 January 2013 by philosiblog

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. – Aristotle

The passion of an artist often shows in their work, as does the lack of it. How does your work reflect on you?

The passion of an artist often shows in their work, as does the lack of it. How does your level of pleasure show up in your work?

What does that mean?
When you are enjoying what you are doing, you tend to do a little better work than when you don’t. Perhaps you work a little longer, pay a little more attention to the details. It may not be exactly perfection in each case, but it is certainly better than average.

Think back to some of the jobs you really didn’t like. How much effort did you put into those tasks? Was your goal to achieve perfection, do a good job, or just do the absolute minimum necessary? Yeah, that’s what I thought, and I did about the same.

This quote, to me, is about the difference between just doing the minimum, whether because you’re indifferent or dislike it, and doing your best because you really like doing it. It is about enjoying what you do, and doing what you enjoy.

Why is enjoying your job important?  Continue reading →

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Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.

Posted on 1 January 2013 by philosiblog

Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. – Robert Frost

Like the movie From Here To Eternity, this picture shows some of that irresistible desire. And neither seems to be resisting.

Like the movie From Here To Eternity, this picture shows some of that irresistible desire. And neither seems to be doing all that much resisting.

What does that mean?
Well, irresistible is defined as “Impossible to resist.” or “Having an overpowering appeal” and desire is defined as “A wish or longing.”, “The object of longing” and “Passion or appetite.”

That about covers it, doesn’t it? “Love is the overpowering appeal and longing to be impossible to resist by the object of your longing.” And, when stated that way, it seems a little clearer, or at least it does to me.

When you look at it, isn’t that what love, the raw emotion, boils down to? You and the other person, both succumbing to the appeal and longing of being impossible to resist to the other person?

As one might expect from one so experienced with words, the phrase is rather well crafted. It twists back on itself, alternating between the different definitions of the words. Therein lies the beauty of the phrase, in my opinion. It’s short, it’s clever, and it is accurate. Well played.

Why is being irresistibly desired important?  Continue reading →

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2012 in review

Posted on 31 December 2012 by philosiblog

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 250,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 5 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!

Click here to see the complete report.

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If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.

Posted on 31 December 2012 by philosiblog

If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.  – Zig Ziglar

Looks like he reached his target. Without a finish line, how do you know when you're done, or how you are progressing?

Looks like he reached his target. Without a finish line, how do you know when you’re done, or measure progress?

What does that mean?
Also attributed to B.J. Marshall, this is more a truism than anything else. So many people, myself included, who just do things, without any real aim in the doing of it. If one has a plan, and a mission to accomplish, then there is a target to aim for.

However, aiming at nothing means you have no idea whether you hit it or not. You will have no feedback, and no way of improving what you are doing, right? If you can’t track your progress, how do you know if you are getting better or not?

That is the thing that New Years Resolutions help us, when they aren’t farcical. If you are serious about doing something in the coming year, what you really need do is follow through.

But by having a resolution, a goal to achieve, or a target to aim for, you have the possibility of hitting it. And if you have one, you can measure by how much you missed, and make adjustments for the next attempt.

Why is having a target, goal, or resolution important?  Continue reading →

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