Quotes about being
page 66

Thomas Carlyle photo
Barrett Brown photo

“Being an atheist is like not owning a TV – completely rational, but best kept to one's self.”

Barrett Brown (1981) American journalist, essayist and satirist

True/Slant, "The Most Bizarre E-mail I Have Ever Received" http://trueslant.com/barrettbrown/2010/06/30/the-most-bizarre-e-mail-i-have-ever-received/, 30 June 2010.

David Allen photo

“Freedom to give full attention to what you want (vs. It being held hostage by unmanaged stuff) is the GTD promise.”

David Allen (1945) American productivity consultant and author

17 December 2011 https://twitter.com/gtdguy/status/148127884798730240
Official Twitter profile (@gtdguy) https://twitter.com/gtdguy

Adolf Eichmann photo
Martin Buber photo
Rick Baker photo
Kage Baker photo
W. Brian Arthur photo

“More than anything else technology creates our world. It creates our wealth, our economy, our very way of being.”

W. Brian Arthur (1946) American economist

Source: The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves. (2009), p. 10

Ela Bhatt photo

“Every human being has something, a spiritual element, that makes them want to do better, to reach higher.”

Ela Bhatt (1933) founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA)

Discussion with Ela Bhatt, Founder, Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA)

Amit Ray photo

“Yoga is not a religion. It is a science, science of well-being, science of youthfulness, science of integrating body, mind and soul.”

Amit Ray (1960) Indian author

Yoga and Vipassana: An Integrated Lifestyle (2012) https://books.google.co.in/books?id=sBsG9V1oVdMC,

Robert Boyle photo
Donald J. Trump photo
Felix Frankfurter photo

“In the first place, lawyers better remember they are human beings, and a human being who hasn't his periods of doubts and distresses and disappointments must be a cabbage, not a human being. That is number one.”

Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) American judge

Reported in Proceedings in honor of Mr. Justice Frankfurter and distinguished alumni at the meeting of the Council, Harvard Law School Association in Cambridge, April 30, 1960.
Other writings

Davy Crockett photo

“I have never knew what it was to sacrifice my own judgment to gratify any party and I have no doubt of the time being close at hand when I will be rewarded for letting my tongue speak what my heart thinks. I have suffered myself to be politically sacrificed to save my country from ruin and disgrace and if I am never again elected I will have the gratification to know that I have done my duty.”

Davy Crockett (1786–1836) American politician

Comments on his final election defeat (11 August 1835) Ch. 2; in Dr. Swan's Prescriptions for Job-Itis (2003) by Dennis Swanberg and Criswell Freeman, p. 45, part of this seems to have become paraphrased as "Let your tongue speak what your heart thinks." No earlier publication of this version has been located.
Col. Crockett's Exploits and Adventures in Texas (1836)

George Eliot photo
Seneca the Younger photo

“Virtue runs no risk of becoming contemptible by being exposed to view, and it is better to be despised for simplicity than to be tormented by continual hypocrisy.”

Seneca the Younger (-4–65 BC) Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist

On Tranquility of the Mind

Hermann Rauschning photo
Michael Swanwick photo
Guillermo del Toro photo

“The point of being over 40 is to fulfill the desires you've been harboring since you were 7.”

Guillermo del Toro (1964) Mexican film director

10 Questions for Guillermo del Toro, Time Magazine, 9/5/2011. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2090370,00.html

Bill Frist photo
Ben Klassen photo
Barend Cornelis Koekkoek photo

“Immediately and definitively [after starting a painting] I determine the effect of sunlight, day and shadow, without being concerned with any detail. This enable me to see in the started painting the whole of it, which my mind already saw before I begun to work - I see it appearing on the panel or canvas rather soon and can consider in this way the harmony of the composed objects and colors.”

Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803–1862) painter from the Northern Netherlands

(original Dutch, citaat van B.C. Koekkoek:) Ik bepaal dadelijk en voor vast [nadat ik een schilderij begin] het effect van zonlicht, dag en schaduw, zonder mij met eenige uitvoerigheid op te houden. Hierdoor ben ik in staat gesteld, om in mijne aangelegde schilderij een geheel, dat mijn geest reeds vóór dat ik begon te arbeiden zag, binnen korten tijd op het paneel of doek te zien, en over de harmonie de zamengestelde voorwerpen en kleuren te kunnen oordelen..
Source: Herinneringen aan en Mededeelingen van…' (1841), p. 99:

Gaurav Sharma (author) photo
Miguel de Unamuno photo
Sarada Devi photo

“One must be patient like the earth. What iniquities are being perpetrated on her! Yet she quietly endures them all. Man, too, should be like that.”

Sarada Devi (1853–1920) Hindu religious figure, spiritual consort of Ramakrishna

[The Message of Holy Mother, 17]

Randal Marlin photo

“When we look for propaganda, we have the obvious job of asking what messages are being propagated.”

Randal Marlin (1938) Canadian academic

Source: Propaganda & The Ethics Of Persuasion (2002), Chapter Eight, Propaganda, Democracy, And the Internet, p. 302

William Ewart Gladstone photo
Tryon Edwards photo

“Prejudices are rarely overcome by argument; not being founded in reason they cannot be destroyed by logic.”

Tryon Edwards (1809–1894) American theologian

Source: A Dictionary of Thoughts, 1891, p. 26.

Empress Dowager Cixi photo
Edward St. Aubyn photo
Sienna Guillory photo
Cormac McCarthy photo
Ze Frank photo
Sean Carroll photo
A. James Gregor photo
George W. Bush photo
Jim Gaffigan photo

“Hopefully, some of it has to do with us being good actors, too. There's some of it where you get lucky. You come on the job and there are people with you where there's a chemistry there.”

Jim Gaffigan (1966) comedian, actor, author

On the chemistry between the cast members of My Boys — interview in David Kronke, Los Angeles Daily News (June 12, 2008) "Baseball, Beer, and, of Course, The Boys - Actress Jordana Spiro Takes a Run at a Man's World and Delivers a Small Hit for TBS", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Sun-Sentinel Company, p. 12E.

Sarah Wollaston photo

“Maybe I was naive, but I thought the whole point of being an MP was to scrutinise legislation and improve it.”

Sarah Wollaston (1962) British politician

Quoted in The Economist, 6th April 2013, p. 36

Robert Silverberg photo

““I know it stinks. The whole universe stinks, sometimes. Haven’t you discovered that yet?”
“It doesn’t have to stink!” Rawlins said sharply, his voice rising. “Is that the lesson you’ve learned in all those years? The universe doesn’t stink. Man stinks! And he does it by voluntary choice because he’d rather stink than smell sweet! We don’t have to lie. We don’t have to cheat. We could opt for honor and decency and—” Rawlins stopped abruptly. In a different tone he said, “I sound young as hell to you, don’t I, Charles?”
“You’re entitled to make mistakes,” Boardman said. “That’s what being young is for.”
“You genuinely believe and know that there’s a cosmic malevolence in the workings of the universe?”
Boardman touched the tips of his thick, short fingers together. “I wouldn’t put it that way. There’s no personal power of darkness running things, any more than there’s a personal power of good. The universe is a big impersonal machine. As it functions it tends to put stress on some of its minor parts, and those parts wear out, and the universe doesn’t give a damn about that, because it can generate replacements. There’s nothing immoral about wearing out parts, but you have to admit that from the point of view of the part under stress it’s a stinking deal.””

Source: The Man in the Maze (1969), Chapter 4, section 3 (p. 72)

Piet Mondrian photo

“You should remember that my things are still intended to be paintings, that is to say, they are plastic representations, in and by themselves, not part of a building. Furthermore, they have been made in a small room. Also, that I use subdued colours for the time being, adapting myself to the present surroundings and to the outer world; this does not mean that I should not prefer a pure colouring. Otherwise you might think that I contradict myself in my work.”

Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) Peintre Néerlandais

Quote of Mondrian in a letter to Theo van Doesburg, 13 Feb. 1917; as cited in 'Stijl' catalogue, 1951, p. 72; in De Stijl 1917-1931 - The Dutch Contribution to Modern Art, by H.L.C. Jaffé http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/jaff001stij01_01/jaff001stij01_01.pdf; J.M. Meulenhoff, Amsterdam 1956, pp 13-14
1910's

E.E. Cummings photo
Iain Banks photo
Vitruvius photo
Donald Barthelme photo
Frederick Douglass photo

“But are there not reasons against all this? Is there not such a law or principle as that of self-preservation? Does not every race owe something to itself? Should it not attend to the dictates of common sense? Should not a superior race protect itself from contact with inferior ones? Are not the white people the owners of this continent? Have they not the right to say what kind of people shall be allowed to come here and settle? Is there not such a thing as being more generous than wise? In the effort to promote civilization may we not corrupt and destroy what we have? Is it best to take on board more passengers than the ship will carry? To all this and more I have one among many answers, altogether satisfactory to me, though I cannot promise it will be entirely so to you. I submit that this question of Chinese immigration should be settled upon higher principles than those of a cold and selfish expediency. There are such things in the world as human rights. They rest upon no conventional foundation, but are eternal, universal and indestructible. Among these is the right of locomotion; the right of migration; the right which belongs to no particular race, but belongs alike to all and to all alike. It is the right you assert by staying here, and your fathers asserted by coming here. It is this great right that I assert for the Chinese and the Japanese, and for all other varieties of men equally with yourselves, now and forever. I know of no rights of race superior to the rights of humanity, and when there is a supposed conflict between human and national rights, it is safe to go the side of humanity. I have great respect for the blue-eyed and light-haired races of America. They are a mighty people. In any struggle for the good things of this world, they need have no fear, they have no need to doubt that they will get their full share. But I reject the arrogant and scornful theory by which they would limit migratory rights, or any other essential human rights, to themselves, and which would make them the owners of this great continent to the exclusion of all other races of men. I want a home here not only for the negro, the mulatto and the Latin races, but I want the Asiatic to find a home here in the United States, and feel at home here, both for his sake and for ours.”

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman

1860s, Our Composite Nationality (1869)

Max Beckmann photo

“I have never, God or whatever knows, prostrated myself to be famous, but I would meander through all the sewers of the world, through all degradation and humiliations, in order to paint. I have to do this. Until the last drop every vision that exists in my being must be purged; then it will be a pleasure for me to be rid of this damned torture”

Max Beckmann (1884–1950) German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor and writer

letter to his first wife Minna, from the front, 1915; as quoted in Max Beckmann, Stephan Lackner, Bonfini Press Corporation, Naefels, Switzerland, 1983, p. 5
1900s - 1920s

Alfred Denning, Baron Denning photo

“The statute in section 3(1) contains a definition of a “racial group”. It means a “group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins.” That definition is very carefully framed. Most interesting is that it does not include religion or politics or culture. You can discriminate for or against Roman Catholics as much as you like without being in breach of the law. You can discriminate for or against Communists as much as you please, without being in breach of the law. You can discriminate for or against the “hippies” as much as you like, without being in breach of the law. But you must not discriminate against a man because of his colour or of his race or of his nationality, or of “his ethnic or national origins.” … You must remember that it is perfectly lawful to discriminate against groups of people to whom you object - so long as they are not a racial group. You can discriminate against the Moonies or the Skinheads or any other group which you dislike or to which you take objection. No matter whether your objection to them is reasonable or unreasonable, you can discriminate against them - without being in breach of the law.’}}”

Alfred Denning, Baron Denning (1899–1999) British judge

Denning judged in the Court of Appeal at the time, and held that Sikhs were not a racial or ethnic group. His ruling was overturned in the House of Lords, notably by Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Tullybelton, who outlined seven points by which ethno-religious groups were to be defined.
Judgments

Ursula K. Le Guin photo

“What's the dominant emotion associated with purity? Anger. The most aggressive people are the ones who insist on being utterly pure. It's responsible for countless wars at all levels of society. Far better to have no aspiration, no hope and relate to things just as they are.”

Ken McLeod (1948) Canadian lama

Heart Sutra Workshop http://www.unfetteredmind.org/heart-sutra-commentary-3#sect13. Unfettered Mind http://www.unfetteredmind.org. (2008-09-13) (Topic: Life)

Lama Ole Nydahl photo
Bud Selig photo
Robin Williams photo

“Being a functioning alcoholic is kind of like being a paraplegic lap dancer: You can do it, just not as well as the others, really.”

Robin Williams (1951–2014) American actor and stand-up comedian

Weapons of Self Destruction (2010)

John Backus photo

“Much of my work has come from being lazy. I didn't like writing programs, and so, when I was working on the IBM 701 (an early computer), writing programs for computing missile trajectories, I started work on a programming system to make it easier to write programs.”

John Backus (1924–2007) American computer scientist

Quoted in the IBM employee magazine Think in 1979. Cited by his Associated Press obituary http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17704662/

Subcomandante Marcos photo
Plutarch photo

“Agesilaus being invited once to hear a man who admirably imitated the nightingale, he declined, saying he had heard the nightingale itself.”

Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher

Life of Agesilaus II
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Halldór Laxness photo

“It's an honor to be beheaded. Even a little churl becomes a man by being beheaded.”

Halldór Laxness (1902–1998) Icelandic author

Hólmfastur Guðmundsson
Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946), Part I: Iceland's Bell

Gerald Ford photo

“(Gail A. Cobb) has our lasting admiration for the cause of law enforcement and the well-being of our society, a cause for which she made the highest sacrifice.”

Gerald Ford (1913–2006) American politician, 38th President of the United States (in office from 1974 to 1977)

Conference of the International Association of Police Chiefs http://www.mcjackie.com/cobb.html (24 September 1974).
1970s

Francis Crick photo
Mary Astell photo
Michael Chabon photo
Pat Condell photo

“Retirement should be a happier time, conditioned upon not being ill.#”

David Blanchflower (1952) British economist

OC Register http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/stages/stage6/article_739465.php

George W. Bush photo

“Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East. The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled. This confrontation is willed by God who wants this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a new age begins.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

Former French president Jacques Chirac claimed in late 2009 that Bush made these statements to him at some point prior the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 while "appealing to him as a Christian" and attempting to convince him to have France join the invasion. The Independent, 2 January 2010 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/richard-ingrams/richard-ingramsrsquos-week-blair-must-be-quizzed-over-bushs-biblical-crusade-1855418.html
Attributed, Private/attributed

Jane Roberts photo
Nayef Al-Rodhan photo

“Knowledge is also inferred from what is accepted as established knowledge, with new knowledge being based on the best explanation. This includes possible truths subject to proof.”

Nayef Al-Rodhan (1959) philosopher, neuroscientist, geostrategist, and author

Source: Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man (2009), p.108

Vitruvius photo
Ulysses S. Grant photo
Masiela Lusha photo
Indro Montanelli photo
Werner Erhard photo

“What I recognized is that you can't put it together. It's already together, and what you have to do is experience it being together.”

Werner Erhard (1935) Critical Thinker and Author

[Ruth Tucker, 2004, Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan, 367, 0310259371]
[Larry Chang, Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, 527, Gnosophia Publishers, April 28, 2006, 0977339106]
Attributed
Variant: What isn't, isn't. You can't put it together... what you have to do is experience it being together.

Starhawk photo
Murasaki Shikibu photo
Fritjof Capra photo
Thom Yorke photo
Donald J. Trump photo
W. H. Auden photo
John Leguizamo photo

“I like drama. I love being in a drama where I get to be the funny guy. That's what I really love the most.”

John Leguizamo (1964) Colombian and American actor, film producer, voice artist, and comedian

John Leguizamo Talks About "Assault on Precinct 13", January 16, 2005, answering the question, "Is comedy your first love?"

William Whipple photo

“This year, my Friend, is big with mighty events. Nothing less than the fate of America depends on the virtue of her sons, and if they do not have virtue enough to support the most Glorious Cause ever human beings were engaged in, they don’t deserve the blessings of freedom.”

William Whipple (1730–1785) American signatory of the Declaration of Independence

As quoted in "William Whipple" http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/william-whipple/ (11 December 2011), The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

David Smith (rower) photo
George Ohsawa photo

“"You are what you eat." Nothing else. Never. If you are nourished with cow's milk and later with herbs, you'll become someone whose whole life is good only for being exploited by others.”

George Ohsawa (1893–1966) twentieth century Japanese philosopher

Atomic Age - And the Philosophy of the Far East (1977), p. 53

Craig Ferguson photo
Kurt Schwitters photo
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury photo
William Lai photo

“I will set a policy goal next year to make Taiwan a bilingual country, with English and Chinese being its official languages.”

William Lai (1959) Taiwanese politician

William Lai (2018) cited in " Taiwan to Make English an Official Language https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/08/31/taiwan-english-official-language/" on Breitbart, 31 August 2018.

Theodore Roszak photo
Morrissey photo

“TF: At which point did you stop being celibate, why and who with?
M: I don't see how anyone would benefit from seeing that kind of information in print. Least of all me.”

Morrissey (1959) English singer

From "The Face Q&A", The Face (November 1999).
In interviews etc., About love

Chris Cornell photo
Odilo Globocnik photo
Bill Gates photo

“He [Steve Jobs] showed me the boat he was working on … and talked about how he's looking forward to being on it, even though we both knew there was a good chance that wouldn't happen.”

Bill Gates (1955) American business magnate and philanthropist

cbsnews.com http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-gates-on-steve-jobs-we-grew-up-together/
July 2013

Isaac Asimov photo

“Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of choking mist within which no other but he existed. Occasionally there were the dim signals from deep within the cavern in which another man was located — so that each might grope toward the other. Yet because they did not know one another, and could not understand one another, and dared not trust one another, and felt from infancy the terrors and insecurity of that ultimate isolation — there was the hunted fear of man for man, the savage rapacity of man toward man.”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Second Foundation (1953), Chapter 8 “Seldon’s Plan”; in part II, “Search by the Foundation” originally published as “—And Now You Don’t” in Astounding (November and December 1949 and January 1950)

Everett Dean Martin photo