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Franz Kafka Quote on Using Subtle Maneuvers to Stay Balanced and Focused As You Continue To Fight in Life
“Time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.”
Franz Kafka, via Daily Rituals
Beyond the Quote (154/365)
It never ceases to amaze me how fast 10 minutes goes by when I’m distracted and busy versus how slow 10 minutes goes by when I’m trying to be present. Even just this morning I was reminded. My alarm went off at around 7:15am and after snoozing for another 15 minutes, I went on my phone to further wake up for the day. Before I knew it, it was already 8:10am. 40 minutes had literally flown by before I had even one conscious thought to check the time.
Read More »Franz Kafka Quote on Using Subtle Maneuvers to Stay Balanced and Focused As You Continue To Fight in LifeAudre Lorde Quote On Fighting, Surviving, and Teaching In Order To Win Battles In Life
“I have found that battling despair does not mean closing my eyes to the enormity of the tasks of effecting change, nor ignoring the strength and the barbarity of the forces aligned against us. It means teaching, surviving and fighting with the most important resource I have, myself, and taking joy in that battle. It means, for me, recognizing the enemy outside and the enemy within, and knowing that my work is part of our power, and knowing that this work did not begin with my birth nor will it end with my death. And it means knowing that within this continuum, my life and my love and my work has particular power and meaning relative to others.”
Audre Lorde, The Cancer Journals
Beyond the Quote (153/365)
Even when the tasks set in front of us for affecting change are massive—we mustn’t waver. We mustn’t close our eyes. We mustn’t let the size of the task stop us from taking every possible step we can to keep moving forward as individuals and as a society. For, any big change can only ever happen effectively as a result of a collective series of small efforts. These small efforts collect one by one from each individual person and person by person as a collective group. There is no one person who is “big” enough to handle this task on their own and there is no one person who is “small” enough to contribute to the collective effort that unites us as a whole.
Read More »Audre Lorde Quote On Fighting, Surviving, and Teaching In Order To Win Battles In LifeMartin Luther King Jr. Quote on Violence and How To Fight For The Light Without Adding More Darkness
“I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Beyond the Quote (152/365)
“No justice, no peace” shouldn’t be interpreted as a direct call to violence. Rather, it’s a statement that so clearly points out that justice and peace go hand-in-hand and that without one, you simply cannot have the other. It’s a chant that means as long as injustice prevails, acting peacefully is a moral impossibility. It’s a chant that points out that peace isn’t just the absence of war, but the presence of justice. For, how can we live in peace if we know that justice isn’t being upheld? What does unjust treatment mean for the people within a community? How can you feel peace if your sense of security is being directly threatened? If there is no justice, then something is seriously wrong and it is a threat to us all—and how can we live in peace knowing that?
Read More »Martin Luther King Jr. Quote on Violence and How To Fight For The Light Without Adding More DarknessJane Addams Quote on True Peace Being About More Than Just The Absence Of War
“True peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice.”
Jane Addams
Beyond the Quote (151/365)
There is a time for words and there is a time for action. As a Martial Arts Instructor, I teach a very clear protocol to my students when it comes to self-defense situations: avoid potentially dangerous situations; be calm and breathe; communicate with confidence; and defend yourself if necessary. And if you find yourself in a situation of self-defense, use the minimum force necessary to deal with the aggressor in such a way that allows you to handle the situation properly and escape safely. I think these personal safety themes can help clear up what’s happening in response to the George Floyd police brutality case on a larger scale.
Read More »Jane Addams Quote on True Peace Being About More Than Just The Absence Of War
40 Empowering Quotes on Justice and How Silence Is As Bad As Injustice Itself
Excerpt: These quotes on justice were collected to empower you to take action against injustice anywhere—because silence is as bad as injustice itself.
Read More »40 Empowering Quotes on Justice and How Silence Is As Bad As Injustice Itself
Quote on Acting in Situations of Injustice and How Silence Is As Bad As Injustice Itself
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Desmond Tutu
Beyond the Quote (149/365)
Love is as love does; Hate is as hate does; Indifference doesn’t do. Both hate and love do; care is involved. In the case of love, we care for ourselves and others and so we express it in the form of positive, constructive, kind, mindful actions. Love is not something that can be expressed through intention only.
Read More »Quote on Acting in Situations of Injustice and How Silence Is As Bad As Injustice ItselfJacob Held Quote on Perspective and How What We See Is A Reflection of Who We Are
“We can’t change what life is, but we can change how we react to and interpret it.”
Jacob Held
Beyond the Quote (148/365)
To start, a story of two dogs. Both at separate times walk into the same room. One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling. A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise she finds a room filled with mirrors. The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him. What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.
Read More »Jacob Held Quote on Perspective and How What We See Is A Reflection of Who We AreLao Tzu Quote on Simplicity, Patience, and Compassion
“I have just three things to teach:
~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
You return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
You accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
You reconcile all beings in the world.”
Beyond the Quote (147/365)
Your first greatest treasure: Simplicity. Simplicity in thought is a sign of mental clarity. Complicated in thought is a sign of confusion. Simplicity in action is a result of simplicity in thought. Complicated actions are a result of confused or unclear thoughts. Albert Einstein was famous for saying, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” This is true for all knowledge and insight in life. If you can’t break it down and explain it simply, you don’t fully understand it.
Read More »Lao Tzu Quote on Simplicity, Patience, and CompassionJohn C. Maxwell Quote on Setting Yourself Up For Success
“Set the tone for your day by treating people better than you expect to be treated by them. Be the first to smile. Express your appreciation for them. Expect the best out of them. If you act first, you will set yourself up for success.”
John C. Maxwell, Today Matters
Beyond the Quote (146/365)
One thing is for sure, the opposite certainly won’t set you up for success. You can treat people worse than you expect them to treat you. You can wait to smile until they smile at you. You can withhold any appreciation you might have towards others and express gratitude only when it would be rude not to. You can expect the worst out of them. The thing is, though, if you wait to act, you will be outsourcing part of your success onto them—to people and circumstances out of your control. And is success even possible if it’s out of your control?
Read More »John C. Maxwell Quote on Setting Yourself Up For SuccessRupi Kaur Quote on Love and How Love Isn’t Cruel Or A Game
“love is not cruel
we are cruel
love is not a game
we have made a game
out of love”
Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey (Page 127)
Beyond the Quote (145/365)
To all those who suffer from heartbreak, don’t blame love. Love is forever flowing and ever present throughout all that is. Love isn’t one person. Love is what connects us to infinite warmth, gratitude, and grace. Love isn’t temporary. To blame love for being cruel is to blame your entire body when just one cell is at fault. Love is far bigger than any one person. Love is the understructure that provides the foundation for all that is kind, just, and joyous. Love is not cruel.
Read More »Rupi Kaur Quote on Love and How Love Isn’t Cruel Or A Game
