Canned Wisdom

In a previous post, I talked of my son Gregory and his coin collecting. What I did not mention, but you may have gathered was that I am a collector’s collector. I collect lots of stuff- the coins I reluctantly handed over to my son, quotations, mchongoanos, books, etc. Today I want to share with you some quotations that I have collected over the years. Why do I collect quotes? For me they summarize lots of stuff into sizeable tablets that one can pick and consume at appropriate times of need. Instead of reading a whole book, one quotation is enough to tell you what the moral of the story is…….. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unimagined in common hours”- Robert De Niro’s Maxim

To entertain some people, all you have to do is listen

“Pain is what you measure pleasure (with) by”-Tibetian saying

“Suffering is the first step towards liberation”- Dalai Lama

“When you have an itch, you scratch. But not to itch at all is better than any amount of scratching”- Nagarjuna (Indian scholar on celibacy, sexual satisfaction)

Life is fragile, Handle it with Prayer

“I don’t believe in love. It doesn’t exist in my philosophy. There is no such thing as love. If I am not unkind to my parents it is because of gratitude and nothing else. If I get a wife I shall not wrench her hand or swear at her, because it would be indecent. That is all the motive for a lot of habitual decent behaviour we see which we call love. There is no such thing as love”-Chandran (In RK Narayan’s The Bachelor of Arts)

“Writing is a prestigious profession which puts one right into the center of the world and to remain on top, one has to work really hard, the aim being a good and original theme, simplicity in expression and the use of the irreplaceable word”- Nelson Mandela (In a letter to daughter Zindzi)

The poet seeks it in verse The politician in foundation stones The reporter in bylines -Immortality