#versa

I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth; I am a citizen of the world. ↗

— Eugene Victor Debs

#anti-nationalism #compassion #humanity #universal-love #love

Bahujanahitāya bahujanasukhāya lokānukampāya: For the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world. ↗

— Gautama Buddha

#buddhism #compassion #greater-good #love #tolerance

Islam is the only religion that gives dignity to the poor. ↗

— Ramsey Clark

#islam #kindness #love #peace #religion

Self-pity, while it should be accorded due respect, is the greatest of all acids to the human soul. ↗

— Paul Hoffman

#cale #fourth #god #greatest #hand

The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend. ↗

— Chuck Palahniuk

#human-nature #weekend #nature

I talked to him on Christmas, and again on March 5th. Neither one of us hung up the phone that whole time. 
 ↗

— Jarod Kintz

#awkward #christmas #conversation #dead-air #march-

I think… that love encompasses the experience of the possible transition from the pure randomness of chance to a state that has universal value. Starting out from something that is simply an encounter, a trifle, you learn that you can experience the world on the basis of difference and not only in terms of identity. And you can even be tested and suffer in the process. In today’s world, it is generally thought that individuals only pursue their own self-interest. Love is an antidote to that. Provided it isn’t conceived only as an exchange of mutual favours, or isn’t calculated way in advance as a profitable investment, love really is a unique trust placed in chance. It takes us into key areas of the experience of what is difference and, essentially, leads to the idea that you can experience the world from the perspective of difference. In this respect it has universal implications: it is an individual experience of potential universality, and is thus central to philosophy, as Plato was the first to intuit. ↗

— Alain Badiou

#difference #identity #love #otherness #philosophy

By means of personal experimentation and observation, we can discover certain simple and universal truths. The mind moves the body, and the body follows the mind. Logically then, negative thought patterns harm not only the mind but also the body. What we actually do builds up to affect the subconscious mind and in turn affects the conscious mind and all reactions. ↗

— H.E. Davey

#ki #meditation #mind-and-body-unification #nakamura-tempu #negative-thoughts

You both passed out,” Percy said. “I don’t know why, but Ella told me not to worry about it. She said you were…sharing?” “Sharing,” Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn’t look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. “Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts.” Percy scratched his head. “Yeah…we’ve been having conversations like that all night. I still don’t know what she’s talking about. ↗

— Rick Riordan

#ella #hazel-levesque #heroes-of-olympus #percy-jackson #percy-jackson-and-the-olympians

You asked why the rate hate Overlanders so deeply. It is because they know one will be the warrior of the prophecy," said Vikus. "Oh, I see," said Gregor. "So, when's he coming?" Vikus fixed his eyes on Gregor. "I believe he is already here. ↗

— Suzanne Collins

#fantasy #fiction #warrior #wise-old-man #fantasy-fiction