Quote Discussion, Current quote: “The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult.” page 27

New quote:

“Love is an emotion experienced by the many and enjoyed by the few.”

~George Jean Nathan

Heartbreak, Divorce, Unrequited Love, Affairs.

And that’s not even touching upon other kinds of love.

This quote didn’t get much attention.
Let’s just go on to a new one:

“The one on shore is a master swimmer.”

~Egyptian Proverb

funny. a famous Dutch proverb translates as “the best steermen stand on shore”. it means it’s easy to criticise others if you’re not involved. i think the Egyptian might have the same meaning.

Originally posted by OmegaDoom:

funny. a famous Dutch proverb translates as “the best steermen stand on shore”. it means it’s easy to criticise others if you’re not involved. i think the Egyptian might have the same meaning.

Well it depends if you take it as cynical/satire or not. Fact is the one on shore is very likely not drowning. So it could also be seen as a metaphor for:
Being a master of something can become unnecessary if one can get by without performing the activity in which the mastery would be useful or even necessary.

An interesting perspective, Johnny….one that I “didn’t see coming”.

However, I think the more “mainstream” (pun intended) gist would be:

Those who can DO….those who can’t teach (instruct, tell others, etc.)
Although I don’t hold this thinking to be anywhere analogous to the teaching profession.
As ya point out, Johnny….the best teacher is one who has mastered the skill. Which is far better than those who have merely read the material from books. HANDS ON training is usually THE BEST.

Unlike these: Monday morning armchair quarterbacks
Backseat drivers
I really like this quote from the movie “King Ralph”: It is far easier to whisper advice from behind the scenes rather than risk its merit at the point of attack. A royal advisor is telling King Ralph why he wouldn’t want to be the king.

A pro at something would not brag, but rather watch something and to then criticize someone on it.

New quote:

“When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.”

~Alexis de Tocqueville

Originally posted by Dartval:

New quote:

“When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.”

~Alexis de Tocqueville

When you stop learning from past experiences, personal growth also stops.

I would take it to also mean:

When the future stops being defined by the patterns of the past, you lose any chance of an understanding of just what you are heading into, as you drive into it.

Hmmmmmm….I think this new quote might well be the 2nd cousin to: Those who fail to learn from past are doomed to repeat it.

My personal restatement: Our future is built upon the foundation of our past…both the good experiences and the bad.

New quote:

“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years’.”

~Henry Moore

Focus on the short term, on the steps. A large goal is quickly overwhelming, and trying to attend to it will often lead to burnout.

However, if you break that large task down into numerous smaller tasks and focus on each one in turn, it is not nearly so overwhelming. The bigger picture is still there, but you are not focussing on it all of the time, and so you are not losing heart at semingly impossible mountains you have to cross – instead you are celebrating each day’s victories as they come.

I said the following on a different New Year’s Resolution (Dec. 24th):

The same as always & everyday: Stay alive, make the best & most of the day as I possibly can under the situation I’m in, and be ever thankful for what I have rather than be childishly regretful for that which I wanted but didn’t get.

OH, one more thing: Prioritize….prioritize….prioritize.

I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years’.

When I see that quote, I realize that small, actionable goals are better than big, ambitious and usually vague goals.

For example: The goal to work on your weaknesses in Electrostatics tomorrow is probably more attainable and fulfilling in the short term than “Get an A in Physics.”

New quote:

“Not all who wander are lost.”

~J. R. R. Tolkien

Might mean that you don’t know where you are in the grand scheme of things, but you know where you are here and now.

Shadow, I like your “grand scheme of things” thought.

For me, I wanna start w/ the popular concepts of the word wander:

wan·der
[ wóndər ]
1.travel without destination: to move from place to place, either without a purpose or without a known destination
2.leave fixed path: to stray from a place, path, or course
3.daydream: to lose the ability to concentrate or pay attention
Synonyms: walk, stroll, mosey, ramble, mooch

Knowing of Tolkien as I do, I’d say his intent w/ that quote was to point out that the spirit of ADVENTURE just for the sheer joy of DISCOVERY can be seen as truly valuable and not in any way some kind of “loss”.

Heidegger : you have to wander in the forest if you want to find a clearing.

Sometimes, when you are trying to change things, none of the established paths take you whre you wish to go. You can see them, all around you, wendingtheir way through the forest. You know their destinations and know they won’t help.

So you cut through the bush between the paths, making your own trail. Sometimes you walk along an established path for a little while, in order to get some qualification, or rapport with a particular group. All too soon however, you must leave that path as it turns away from your destination, and cut through the underbrush once more. You are leaving a path behind you which others may follow, but you are not on a path yourself.

You also know exactly where you desire to go, but only time will tell if that is where you will end up.

vika, I well imagine there some ppl who do a lot of “wandering” and a few time that a goodly amount of us do a little such wandering at least a few times in out lives. To not have EVER wandered begs the question: Just how much of a dullard are ya….lol However, I have met quite a few such ppl. It’s almost like a “phobia”….of experiencing anything other than “the familiar”.

Plus, I think some of us “part-time” wanders do so even without knowing EXACTLY where we desire to go…maybe not even caring where we end up,,,,usually w/ the expectation that such wandering is merely a side excursion (marriage infidelity), a quest for adventure (new kind of restaurant), and we know the path home.

Sometimes, a person will leave THE (or their own) humdrum of the beaten path because of the “grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence” lure (new job, new marriage, new local, etc.) And, there can be the greatly hopeful expectation of finding that greener grass because most anything found just has to be better than the current path.

literally it meant that a vagrant is not necessarily some misfortunate bum. the full sentence is “all that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost” and (in universe) is part of a poem written by Gandalf to describe Aragorn.

i also read somewhere that, like all characters of LotR, Aragorn was based on someone Tolkien knew. apparently in WW2 he knew someone, like, in some underground resistence that was quite like that.

anyway, i’d say it’s true, and would apply to more than just geography.

Some people choose to wander, to take the path less traveled, to forge their own path.
To be lost, you must first wish to be somewhere else. If you wish to wander, then you cannot be lost while wandering. It’s impossible to want to be where you are and be lost at the same time.

New quote:

“He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”

~Confucius

Obviously, you can learn, but if you dont think; You cant reflect on previous experiences and compare them with the current situation; So you are lost.
And if you can think, but cant learn; You may reason with your current situation, but with no previous data to go with; you may very well be in trouble.