#con

People who have a religion should be glad, for not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things. You don't necessarily even have to be afraid of punishment after death; purgatory, hell, and heaven are things that a lot of people can't accept, but still a religion, it doesn't matter which, keeps a person on the right path. It isn't the fear of God but the upholding of one's own honor and conscience. How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the while day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that: "A quiet conscience mades one strong! ↗

— Anne Frank

#consciousness #experience #inspirational #life #life-lessons

How to get rid of ego as dictator and turn it into messenger and servant and scout, to be in your service, is the trick. ↗

— Joseph Campbell

#self-awareness #self-control #ego

We have always known that heedless self interest was bad morals, we now know that it is bad economics. ↗

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

#greed #greed

The Master said, “If your conduct is determined solely by considerations of profit you will arouse great resentment. ↗

— Confucius

#consumerism #greed #materialism #profit #greed

He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. ↗

— Socrates

#contentment #gluttony #greed #greed

Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness. ↗

— Pearl S. Buck

#joy

Hey, I’m an art lover,” protested Ramirez. “I love Thomas Kinkade. Painter of Light, you know what I’m sayin’?” Beverly’s smile froze. “Yes, quite. ↗

— Linda Morris

#art

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain. ↗

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

#contentment #raining #rain

Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery. A mystery is a phenomenon that people don't know how to think about - yet. There have been other great mysteries: the mystery of the origin of the universe, the mystery of life and reproduction, the mystery of the design to be found in nature, the mysteries of time, space, and gravity. These were not just areas of scientific ignorance, but of utter bafflement and wonder. We do not yet have all the answers to any of the questions of cosmology and particle physics, molecular genetics and evolutionary theory, but we do know how to think about them .... With consciousness, however, we are still in a terrible muddle. Consciousness stands alone today as a topic that often leaves even the most sophisticated thinkers tongue-tied and confused. And, as with all of the earlier mysteries, there are many who insist -- and hope -- that there will never be a demystification of consciousness. ↗

— Daniel C. Dennett

#science #design

What i realise now is that the story actually did have a happy ending: the children came back. In spite of everything the adults did to them, the children found their own way home, their pockets full of precious stones and pearls that gleamed and shone in the light. ↗

— Julia Green

#hope #life #love #second-chances #forgiveness