Category: Quotes

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2012.04.29 On Passion and Reason

“I would have you consider your judgment and your appetite even as you would two loved guests in your house. Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.” – Kahlil Gibran

A timely reminder that I must balance out and listen to both sides — my heart and my head. It is easy to dismiss one or the other as crazy when it serves me. The path of least resistance is ever at my feet and I must remind myself to continue through the thicket.

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“Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping… waiting… and though unwanted… unbidden… it will stir… open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us… guides us… passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love… the clarity of hatred… and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we’d know some kind of peace… but we would be hollow… Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we’d be truly dead.” – Joss Whedon

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“Comparison Is the Thief of Joy.”

Theodore Roosevelt hit it on the head for me. As I approach the conclusion of my thesis, and look to the incredible work being done all around me, I feel fear, anxiety, stress. I feel not good enough, inadequate.

And then I remember. I too am making something beautiful. I too have ideas that are unique, stimulating.

I spend so much of my life constantly comparing and competing–it’s what we are conditioned to do in architecture school. But I reject this way of being. I have higher standards than almost anyone else I know when it comes to living well and working hard. I don’t need to compare to others, I need to critique my self.

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“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue…

But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.

The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”

— Carl Sagan