Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope.

Posted on 6 July 2012 by philosiblog

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope. – Maya Angelou

Do you “love” chocolate? Or do you “love” your friends and family?

What does that mean?
Love is a very imprecise word in English. Would a person who “loves” a particular type of food (as an example) do any of the things listed in the quote, just to get that food? Well, perhaps excepting the first cup of coffee or a particularly yummy piece of chocolate, but otherwise probably not, right?

Instead, this quote sounds more like the kind of love that shows up in Shaksperian plays (“Wherefore art thou Romeo?”) or in the hearts of truly committed loving relationships, such as a parent to a child, lovers, or something similar.

Sometimes, it is a broader love of one’s fellow humans. Examples include a soldier who covers a grenade to protect their buddies. Broader still was the love shown in a recent story, where the driver of an out of control truck went to great lengths to avoid people, and ended up dead, crashed in a river, but sparing everyone else.

The ending is the most important part of the quote. Hatred can drive a person to do the first part of the quote, as can several other strong emotions. What differentiates these emotions is what you are left with when you have arrived at your destination. That, in my opinion, is the key.

Why is a deep, abiding love important?  Continue reading →

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Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!

Posted on 5 July 2012 by philosiblog

Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead! – David Farragut

Even crossing the street, there is risk. Using the cross-walk and crossing with the light both help to minimize the risk. Or you could just stay on that side of the street.

What does that mean?
This quote is apparently a contraction of a series of orders given by Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. Generally accepted as the original statement is “Damn the torpedoes!” said Farragut, “Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!”

This command was given in the Battle of Mobile Bay, where the lead ship of convoy was sunk by an underwater mine (which were called torpedoes back then). Realizing that his mission would surely be lost without some inspiration, he gave the order for his ships to move forward, despite the risk.

Then, as now, mines are often more a psychological weapon than an actual threat. By destroying one ship, the defenders almost blunted the attack and survived. Instead, in a calculated but risky move, the Admiral and his forces were able to sail into the bay without any further loss of ships, and take the harbor forts, and therefore the harbor.

Why is the taking of risks important?  Continue reading →

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All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.

Posted on 4 July 2012 by philosiblog

All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work. – Calvin Coolidge

Work is effort for an extended time, not a bad word. It looks like someone is ready to work on getting better at their mad gaming skills.

What does that mean?
As much as I love this quote, I wish to point out that there is at least one thing that can grow without any activity. That would be your waist-line. All kidding aside, the point of the quote is that if you wish to advance yourself beyond the limits of your natural ability or talent, you’re going to have to work at it.

Do you want to be able to lift more than you presently can, or run farther than you presently are able, going to have to train,. Training is an activity, and that takes some effort to help you grow. You’re going to have to do it for a while, and that turns effort into work. Do you want to learn a language or get better at chess or crossword puzzles? Same thing. Do the action, train, which leads to practice, which requires effort, and that’s work.

Why is work important?  Continue reading →

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I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.

Posted on 3 July 2012 by philosiblog

I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. – Mikhail Baryshnikov

“Mikhail Baryshnikov and the New York City Ballet Company perform for President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter and guests in the East Room, 1979”

What does that mean?
To me, this is a quote from a mind in a healthy state of competition. So many people are out there, trying to prove themselves, and to be the best by beating someone else. To me, that seems to be the opposite of noble or enlightened behavior. This quote rightly (in my opinion) puts a great distance between itself and that kind of behavior.

The quotes the far more noble and enlightened (again, in my opinion) path of rigorous self improvement. He was constantly striving to become better by challenging himself, to improve his better, and trying to beat his best. Yes, it’s nice to have an external measure of your ability, and sometimes a rival can provide motivation, but in the ned, it’s really up to you, isn’t it?

Why is striving to improve important?  Continue reading →

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The quickest way to become troubled is to be concerned with what people are gonna say about your life and your work.

Posted on 2 July 2012 by philosiblog

The quickest way to become troubled is to be concerned with what people are gonna say about your life and your work. – Ahmad Jamal

If this is your idea of art, don’t be troubled by the critics. There is a buyer for almost any art, if you can only find them. Follow your dream.

What does that mean?
This is another way of saying that you can’t please all the people all the time. This quote advises us to not trouble ourselves with the opinions of all the other people in life. The author of this quote is an accomplished Jazz Pianist, and was talking about critics, many of whom either didn’t know him or didn’t like him. In any case, they weren’t the people who were part of what was him, nor who were important to him.

Being worried about people who are not important to you is a great way to get all worried and troubled in mind and spirit. This quote urges us to not take that path. Implied in the quote is the urging to be your own person, to follow your own true path.

Why is staying focused on your dreams important?  Continue reading →

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Meet hostility and suspicion with kindness. Helping others out of love is always the best option.

Posted on 1 July 2012 by philosiblog

Meet hostility and suspicion with kindness. Helping others out of love is always the best option. – Dalai Lama

What if Kindness was a sport? Would you be for Team Kindness?

What does that mean?
The world is full of all kinds of people. Not all are as kind as you are. You are kind, at least some of the time, right? Many of the people you will encounter on any day will be in the middle of a less than stellar day. This might lead an otherwise kind person to act in a slightly hostile manner, or so I am told.

Similarly, there will be people who are having days full of disappointment, betrayal, and an endless stream of solicitors. This might lead an otherwise kind person be slightly suspicious of you and your motives, or so I am told.

The quote suggests to treat these people with kindness, and I agree. It has been my experience that being kind to others is no more difficult than being hostile to them or suspicious of them. I have also noticed that the results are often dramatically different.

Why is kindness important?  Continue reading →

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The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.

Posted on 30 June 2012 by philosiblog

The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all. – Niccolò Machiavelli

Reconciliation. Eventually it will come, if you allow the injury time to heal.

What does that mean?
This is the classic “pull off the bandage” issue. Do you pull it off quickly and get it over with, or do you pull a little bit at a time, and take a while to complete the painful task.

As this was advice for a new ruler, and the task was dealing with the leadership and structure of the subjugated people, the advice was to tear it off quickly.

This makes sense, as people will react badly to being injured (be it pride, physical, emotional, or financial). However, there’s little as irritating as something that keeps poking you, even if no individual poke does much damage. Eventually, it becomes infuriating, and a significant response comes out.

Conversely, the advice says to do it all at once, and they will get over it nearly as quickly, and you can start rebuilding relationships once the worst of the injuries have healed. That’s not possible in the “pull it off slowly” scenario, as you are constantly re-injuring them, and making them mad.

Why is reconciliation important?  Continue reading →

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What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.

Posted on 29 June 2012 by philosiblog

What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“That’s a great plan, Phil. When do we break ground?”

What does that mean?
This is another quote about getting up off your rear end and getting busy. If you don’t start it today, when will you start it? Tomorrow? The day after that? For any non-trivial task, you aren’t likely to start it and finish it tomorrow, right?

By starting today, you at least stand a chance of finishing tomorrow. While larger projects may take more time to complete than that, if you don’t start today, you are pushing the date for the completion of the task back by another day, and that’s not good.

To rephrase the quote, if you don’t start, you’ll never finish. Also, the longer you wait to start the longer it will be until you finish. Pretty straightforward and reasonable, right? If you have something to do, plan it (as much as is reasonable), but then get started. DO IT!

Why is not procrastinating important?  Continue reading →

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A feeble body weakens the mind.

Posted on 28 June 2012 by philosiblog

A feeble body weakens the mind. – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The student-athlete has the best of both worlds.

What does that mean?
While having a robust body doesn’t guarantee your mind will be equally robust, there are few who have maintained a strong mind while allowing their body to become feeble. Note that I discount from this saying those who suffered accidents or other life-altering events. To me, this quote is about those who don’t take care of their body.

The quote, in the context of France near the end of the Monarchy, this was more about keeping an active body and an active mind. The basic concept is that someone who would let their body go to crap, they probably aren’t doing all that much to keep their mind sharp either.

While today’s comfort society puts King Louis (and court) to shame, there are whole new classes of workers for whom their livelihood is derived from their mind, and often at the expense of their body. There is a reason the stereotypical computer geek is skinny and weak.

Why is being at least a little bit fit important?  Continue reading →

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Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

Posted on 27 June 2012 by philosiblog

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. – Helen Keller

Dance has always been a method to relieve suffering among those with the least. How do you relieve your suffering?

What does that mean?
This is a great quote, from someone who knew both the suffering and the overcoming of suffering, a more complete listing of which can be found in her bio (click on her name, above). Through a series of events, she became quite famous for both.

Suffering is a condition of humanity, it seems. No matter the culture or the era, there are stories of the enduring of great suffering. Many of the same tales also describe the eventual overcoming of the suffering, and the triumph of the person or people in the story.

While on occasion we end up in the exact same circumstances, most of these stories are designed to provide us with inspiration to help us in our moments of suffering. When we have hope, an example of overcoming, even if it is but a story, we are heartened. That helps us believe, and we are more willing to try harder and try more times, in the effort to overcome.

Why is the effort to overcome suffering important?  Continue reading →

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It is idle to dread what you cannot avoid.

Posted on 26 June 2012 by philosiblog

It is idle to dread what you cannot avoid. – Publius Syrus

“Uh oh!” “Wait until Dad get’s home! You’re gonna get it!”

What does that mean?
Most of us have dreaded or worried about the coming of something that was inevitable, at one time or another in our lives. Whether it was waiting for dad to get home to dispense justice after an afternoon of dubious adventures, or awaiting a “review” with the boss, we’ve been there in some manner at some point in our lives.

It rarely helped, did it? The dreading, that is. Did it make the time pass more quickly? Did it make the time pass more pleasantly? Did it make us feel better about ourselves while we waited? Did it do anything to buoy our spirits?

So not only didn’t it help us feel better, but it also had absolutely no impact on what happened, right? What was unavoidable or inevitable still happened, despite our dread. So it has always been, and so it always will be. Learn it early, and you may find a better way to bide your time while you await what cannot be avoided.

Why is fortitude important?  Continue reading →

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Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

Posted on 25 June 2012 by philosiblog

Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. – George Orwell

If we can cooperate, and show respect for each other, there is no limit to what we can do.

What does that mean?
To me, this is the eternal deceit of humankind. Starting in the teenage years, they are more intelligent and better equipped to make decisions than their parents and that generation. After all, they reason, who got us into these problems in the first place.

However, a few decades later, when they are the parents, they are amazed at the rashness and lack of thought in the generation of their children. Somehow, with the roles reversed, the now-parents are so much wiser than the next generation of children.

And so it goes, generation after generation. How many of us, as teens and on into our early 20’s, believed that we knew what had to be done, and what the proper choices were? And for those of us old enough to have teenage children, how many of us have fallen into the other half of that trap?

Why is respect important?  Continue reading →

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Just as we need good physical health we also need strength of mind to ensure our well-being; and we develop it by cultivating ethics.

Posted on 24 June 2012 by philosiblog

Just as we need good physical health we also need strength of mind to ensure our well-being; and we develop it by cultivating ethics. – Dalai Lama

When you find money, do you try to find who lost it? For a penny? For a dollar? For 10, 100, 1000? When does the amount become important?

What does that mean?
This quote starts with the discussion of a simple truth, saying that most of us recognize that it is necessary to keep our bodies in reasonable health. While some of us don’t always remember to eat right or work out on a regular basis, most of us do the basics of keeping healthy, as being healthy is much more pleasant than being sick, right?

The quote uses the body as an analog for the mind. If we are to have a strong and healthy mind, we need to keep it in shape. The quote says that the proper way to keep the mind strong and healthy is to cultivate ethics. By doing that, we can strengthen our will-power in the face of temptation, strengthen our belief in right and wrong, and our willingness to do what we believe to be right, among many other things.

Why are ethics important?  Continue reading →

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Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.

Posted on 23 June 2012 by philosiblog

Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces. – Niccolò Machiavelli

Were you tardy? Did the trolley leave without you? What other opportunities has tardiness cost you? Is it time to change your behavior?

What does that mean?
This quote is another in a long series of truisms which warn us against sloth, procrastination, and other forms of time wasting. This quote speaks of the possibility of squandering an opportunity through not taking action soon enough.

Specifically, it talks about the ‘dispatch of our forces,’ a fairly martial statement in all likelihood. However, like most quotes, I believe it can be applied to the lives of all people in all times, not just the Princes of the Renaissance era.

The quote implores us to act quickly when opportunity presents itself. To act before we lose the chance to ‘dispatch our forces,’ whether they be investing in a startup, helping a friend (or a stranger), or introducing yourself to that special someone you just spotted across the room.

Why is action important?  Continue reading →

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The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Posted on 22 June 2012 by philosiblog

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. – Walt Disney

Can you imagine a world where Walt had just talked about his ideas, and never done anything about them?

What does that mean?
Well, as far as I can tell, you can talk about something or you can do something about it. All the while you are talking, you are not doing, as you haven’t yet made a decision as to what you are going to do.

That means you have to stop talking as the first step in the process. Once you’ve stopped talking, you can actually come to a decision. Then, once you’ve decided, you can finally get to the doing part.

Even if you aren’t sure about what you should do, at some point you have to try something, see what the results are, adjust your approach, then try it again. But before you can start, you’ve got to stop talking.

Why is shutting up important?  Continue reading →

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