#paradox

The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. ↗

— Václav Havel

#life #paradoxes #humor

He was a thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of me and the worst of men, the most protean, most ridiculous, and most sublime. No more baffling, exasperating soldier ever wore a uniform. Flamboyant, imperious, and apocalyptic, he carried the plumage of a flamingo, could not acknowledge errors, and tried to cover up his mistakes with sly, childish tricks. Yet he was also endowed with great personal charm, a will of iron, and a soaring intellect. Unquestionably he was the most gifted man-at arms- this nation has produced. -William Manchester on Douglas MacArthur ↗

— William Raymond Manchester

#interesting #macarthur #paradox #inspirational

The fraudulence paradox was that the more time and effort you put into trying to appear impressive or attractive to other people, the less impressive or attractive you felt inside — you were a fraud. And the more of a fraud you felt like, the harder you tried to convey an impressive or likable image of yourself so that other people wouldn’t find out what a hollow, fraudulent person you really were. Logically, you would think that the moment a supposedly intelligent nineteen-year-old became aware of this paradox, he’d stop being a fraud and just settle for being himself (whatever that was) because he’d figured out that being a fraud was a vicious infinite regress that ultimately resulted in being frightened, lonely, alienated, etc. But here was the other, higher-order paradox, which didn’t even have a form or name — I didn’t, I couldn’t. ↗

— David Foster Wallace

#fraudulence #paradox #poseur #posing #intelligence

Men have two greatest fears: the first fear is the fear of being needed, and the second fear is the fear of not being needed. ↗

— C. JoyBell C.

#fears #life-and-living #men #men-s-fears #paradox

Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the room. There was so much I wanted to say. "I need you to be --" I said, and then I started to cry. "Be what?" she said, opening her arms. "Not sad," I said. ↗

— Nicole Krauss

#love

This book does not exist. And even if it did, it wouldn’t be worth buying or reading.
 ↗

— Jarod Kintz

#buy #exist #existence #money #nonexistence

Music was a chain forged half of silences and half of sound, love was nothing without longing and loss, and were time not to have at its end the absence of time, and the absence of time not to have been preceded by time, neither would be of any consequence. ↗

— Mark Helprin

#love

The paradox of reality is that no image is as compelling as the one which exists only in the mind's eye. ↗

— Shana Alexander

#exists #eye #image #mind #only

The paradox of education is precisely this; that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. ↗

— James Baldwin

#begins #being #conscious #educated #education

We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy. ↗

— Walter Anderson

#find #joy #love #neither #never