#choice

I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment? ↗

— Epictetus

#death #happiness #life #positivity #death

It is a painful thing to say to oneself: by choosing one road I am turning my back on a thousand others. Everything is interesting; everything might be useful; everything attracts and charms a noble mind; but death is before us; mind and matter make their demands; willy-nilly we must submit and rest content as to things that time and wisdom deny us, with a glance of sympathy which is another act of our homage to the truth. ↗

— Antonin Sertillanges

#generalist #specialization #death

... is it truly possible to steal a life, if... the Self is eternal and cannot die? Should this be so, then one who 'murders' does no more than transgress against the will of another, whose choice it is to live. At bottom, a murderer offends not against the body, but against the spirit. ↗

— Ki Longfellow

#death #murder #philosophy #upanishad #death

Life happens, whether you're in it or not, but death doesn't give you a choice. ↗

— Anthony Liccione

#choice #death #in-or-out #life #no-choice

I Became a free woman when I decided to stop dreaming, freedom that is waiting for nothing .. and anticipation is a state of slavery" - Ahlam (Chaos of the Senses) ↗

— Ahlam Mosteghanemi

#freedom-of-choice #women #women-s-strength #women-writers #dreams

What I wanted to preserve was the turbulent gasp in his voice which lingered with me for days afterward and told me that, if I could have him like this in my dreams every night of my life, I'd stake my entire life on dreams and be done with the rest. (p. 109) ↗

— André Aciman

#dreams #love-and-loss #unrequited-love #dreams

In order to align your life choices with your values, you will need to inquire about the effects of your actions (and inactions) on yourself and others. Although we are always stumbling upon new knowledge that shifts our choices and life direction, bringing conscious inquiry to life means that we continually ask questions that lead us to the information we need to make thoughtful decisions. Asking questions is liberating because we develop great understanding and discover more choices with our new knowledge. ↗

— Zoe Weil

#education #humane #informed-decisions #liberating #vegan

I thought of how proud he was when he took the marks- cutting the skin of his throat in a long slash and then packing it with ashes until keloid scars rose up. He called it his second smile. ↗

— Holly Black

#family #honor #life #loyalty #mafia

Choose to do more than just exist; choose to live. ↗

— Steve Maraboli

#choose #exist #happiness #inspirational #life

The way you live each day is a sentence in the story of your life. Every day, you make the choice whether the sentence ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. ↗

— Steve Maraboli

#each-day #life #sentence #story #experience