I love this.....
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Wise words from Matt Haig
Apropos some of my previous posts; Matt Haig sums it up
beautifully when he writes that 'happiness isn't very good for the economy'. I
would go one step further and say that the media is invested in depressing us.
Why? I would guess it has to do with ratings, because the more we watch, the more brainwashed we become, and then they can sell us whatever world view they wish to push on us. They have an agenda for sure. On social media, it has to do with clicks that are given to each article posted.
All of the clickbait stories bring in revenue for the advertisers. Again, we’re
back to money. How cynical the world has become.
Matt Haig writes:
"The world is increasingly designed to depress us.
Happiness isn't very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had,
why would we need more?
How do you sell an anti-ageing moisturiser? You make someone
worry about ageing. How do you get people to vote for a political party? You
make them worry about immigration. How do you get them to buy insurance? By
making them worry about everything. How do you get them to have plastic
surgery? By highlighting their physical flaws. How do you get them to watch a
TV show? By making them worry about missing out. How do you get them to buy a
new smartphone? By making them feel like they are being left behind.
To be calm becomes a kind of revolutionary act. To be happy with your own non-upgraded existence. To be comfortable with our messy, human selves, would not be good for business".
(from his book: Reasons to Stay Alive)
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Change and courage
It does, doesn't it? When you think about it, change is scary. So yes, moving out of your comfort zone requires courage. Here's to all of us who are in that boat, riding the waves of change. The water can sometimes be choppy, and sometimes we don't really know where we're going. But we manage and the waters eventually become calmer.
Friday, October 30, 2020
Friday, July 31, 2020
The wisdom of Alan Watts
·
The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is
so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a
great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.
·
This is the real secret of life — to be
completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of
calling it work, realize it is play.
·
Life and love generate effort, but effort will
not generate them. Faith in life, in other people, and in oneself, is the
attitude of allowing the spontaneous to be spontaneous, in its own way and in
its own time.
·
There is no formula for generating the authentic
warmth of love. It cannot be copied.
·
Everyone has love, but it can only come out when
he is convinced of the impossibility and the frustration of trying to love
himself.
·
Meditation is the discovery that the point of
life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.
·
The only Zen you’ll find on mountain tops is the
Zen you bring up there with you.
·
If you really understand Zen… you can use any
book. You could use the Bible. You could use Alice in Wonderland. You could use
the dictionary, because… the sound of the rain needs no translation.
·
But I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you
go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand
that you’re connected with everything.
·
To be free from convention is not to spurn it
but not to be deceived by it.
·
Problems that remain persistently insoluble should
always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.
·
Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
·
There will always be suffering. But we must not
suffer over the suffering.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
The wisdom of Mary Oliver
Friday, December 5, 2014
What Eckhart Tolle said
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Monday, June 30, 2014
Learning by living
Eleanor Roosevelt was an honest, intelligent, introspective, persevering, patient and empathetic woman, who made a real success of her life in spite of the many difficulties she faced. I found her advice quite straightforward, no-nonsense, honest and helpful. She really did 'learn by living', and that is the message her book imparts. It's possible to grow and change with experience, if you tackle the challenges that life tosses you rather than evade them. She was way ahead of her time in terms of how she lived her life and how she looked at her life as a woman. I recommend this book if you want wisdom that will actually help you as you make your way in this life.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
What Steve Jobs said
Sunday, September 18, 2011
What M.Scott Peck Said
The Spinners--It's a Shame
I saw the movie The Holiday again recently, and one of the main characters had this song as his cell phone ringtone. I grew up with this mu...