“Self satisfaction alone cannot determine if a desire or action is positive or negative. The demarcation between a positive and a negative desire or action is not whether it gives you a immediate feeling of satisfaction, but whether it ultimately results in positive or negative consequences.”
Thoughtful feeling
Thoughtful Quotes — page 113 of 303
“If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I'll tell you what you are.”
“Obviously, circumstances alone do not make us happy or unhappy. It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within you. That is where the kingdom of hell is, too.”
“Most people don't need to be taught, they need only to be reminded”
“You can give the Devil too much or too little attention.”
“And the seriousness with which the other party takes my words always raises the doubt whether I have taken them seriously enough myself.”
“If education is beaten by training, civilization dies.”
“The moment good taste knows itself, some of its goodness is lost.”
“Charlie Christian had no more impact on my playing than Django Reinhardt or Lonnie Johnson. I just wanted to play like him. I wanted to play like all of them. All of these people were important to me. I couldn't play like any of them, though.”
“I strive to be brief, and I become obscure.”
“I think, the argument sometimes that I've had with folks who are much more interested in sort of race-specific programs is less an argument about what is practically achievable and sometimes maybe more an argument of "We want society to see what's happened, and internalize it, and answer it in demonstrable ways." And those impulses I very much understand.”
“You can question somebody's views and their judgment without questioning their motives or patriotism.”
“What we should be asking is not whether we need a big government or small government, but how we can create a smarter and better government.”
“Those who are troubled by our existing programs are not interested in a repeat of 9/11, and those who defend these programs are not dismissive of civil liberties. The challenge is getting the details right, and that's not simple.”
“When we talk about ourselves, about others, or simply about things, we want- it could be said – to reveal ourselves in our words: We want to show what we think and feel. We let other have a glimpse into our soul.”
“Many people see themselves as a problem that needs to be solved. They also habitually see the present moment as an obstacle that they need to overcome or get away from. With awareness, an inner sense of spaciousness arises that enables you to look at your own mind, which is to say the human mind, with a certain degree of detachment.”
“Politics isn't what defines a person, and it shouldn't define a relationship. I made the mistake of letting that intrude on my relationships.”
“My father, for his part, was not a man to begrudge anyone a divergent opinion; he'd have been fine if I had written some articles disagreeing with his policies, or even given interviews, as long as I was respectful and civil.”
“Up until then, whenever anyone had mentioned the possibility of making a film adaptation, my answer had always been, ‘No, I’m not interested.’ I believe that each reader creates his own film inside his head, gives faces to the characters, constructs every scene, hears the voices, smells the smells. And that is why, whenever a reader goes to see a film based on a novel that he likes, he leaves feeling disappointed, saying: ‘the book is so much better than the film.”
“There must be a language that doesn't depend on words.”