#pines

The obscenities of this country are not girls like you. It is the poverty which is obscene, and the criminal irresponsibility of the leaders who make this poverty a deadening reality. The obscenities in this country are the places of the rich, the new hotels made at the expense of the people, the hospitals where the poor die when they get sick because they don't have the money either for medicines or services. It is only in this light that the real definition of obscenity should be made. ↗

— F. Sionil José

#philippines #poverty #prostitution #social #women

Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or tortuous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive. ↗

— Joanne Harris

#bittersweet #chocolate #happiness #heart #simplicity

Well, I am happy, and I won't fret, but it does seem as if the more one gets the more one wants… ↗

— Louisa May Alcott

#little-women #louisa-may-alcott #louisa-may-alcott

Anne was always glad in the happiness of her friends; but it is sometimes a little lonely to be surrounded everywhere by happiness that is not your own. ↗

— L.M. Montgomery

#sadness #l-m-montgomery

I start to think there really is no cure for depression, that happiness is an ongoing battle, and I wonder if it isn't one I'll have to fight for as long as I live. I wonder if it's worth it. ↗

— Elizabeth Wurtzel

#cure #depression #fight #happiness #i

Happiness comes from righteous living and the development of a noble character. You can observe this by noticing that people who are truly happy are honest, unselfish, kind, responsible and have a high moral standards. On the other hand, unhappy people are invariably selfish, lazy, irresponsible and lacking of self discipline. And people who are miserable tend to be immoral, dishonest, greedy, cruel, or in other ways dark in character. ↗

— Helen B. Andelin

#discipline

It's none of your concern what others say or think about you. Your happiness is your own responsibility. ↗

— Richelle E. Goodrich

#happiness #ignoring #independent #joy #responsibility

Learn to say no to demands, requests, invitations, and activities that leave you with no time for yourself. Until I learned to say no, and mean it, I was always overloaded by stress. You may feel guilty and selfish at first for guarding your down- time, but you’ll soon find that you are a much nicer, more present, more productive person in each instance you do choose to say yes. ↗

— Holly Mosier

#mindfulness #opt-out #peace-of-mind #present-moment #purpose

The most important reason for your “no” is that you need your downtime so you won’t behave like a jerk because you’re depleted. And you don’t want to battle an appetite spiked by the stress of overcommitment. But that’s your secret; others don’t need that information. So just smile, say no, thank you, and keep moving. ↗

— Holly Mosier

#overcoming-obstacles #peace-of-mind #purpose #stress #stress

I don’t think man was meant to attain happiness so easily. Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it. ↗

— Alexandre Dumas

#wisdom #fairy-tales