#ness

I cannot have chaos erupting around me until I am prepared for it. I am a collector. I am an observer. I don't participate. My resources, and my standing, must be secure before I can allow the uncertainty of war to crash down upon us. ↗

— Derek Landy

#preparedness #war #uncertainty

For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. ↗

— Elie Wiesel

#holocaust #war #witness #wit

Become totally empty Quiet the restlessness of the mind Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness ↗

— Lao Tzu

#wit

What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There's no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told-and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.' The reason is that beliefs guide behavior which has evolutionary importance among human beings. But at a time when our behavior may well lead us to extinction, I see no reason to assume we have any awareness at all. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion. Next question. ↗

— Michael Crichton

#humanity #food

If you were my child, I would staple you to your bedroom wall. ↗

— Myra McEntire

#overprotectiveness #parents #safety #safety

People often believed they were safer in the light, thinking monsters only came out at night. But safety – like light – is a façade. ↗

— C.J. Roberts

#safety #safety

We are all doomed to seek our own happiness; we can't help ourselves. We are all, the cruel and the gentle alike, condemned to seeking that happiness in the dark. We use our need as the blind use a walking stick, to determine the safety of every forward step. ↗

— Jesse Browner

#safety

that is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned! ↗

— Margaret Mitchell

#uniqueness #sin

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. ↗

— Emily Post

#feelings #fork #good #good manners #manners

Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. ↗

— George Sand

#give #guard #hesitation #how #kindness