Moderation is the pleasure of the wise.
~ Voltaire
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Pleasure →
Riches and power →
To have what we want is riches; But to be able to do without it is power.
~ George MacDonald
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Dreary and repellant →
All violence, all that is dreary and repels, is not power, but the absence of power.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Self-delusion →
Delude not yourself with the notion that you may be untrue and uncertain in trifles and in important things the contrary. Trifles make up existence, and give the observer the measure by which to try us; and the fearful power of habit, after a time suffers not the best will to ripen into action.
~ C. M. von Weber
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A sudden crash →
All human things hang on a slender thread: The strongest fall with a sudden crash.
~ Ovid
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Small asks →
The world expects that its requests will be accepted. That assignments, lunch dates, new projects, and even favors will get a yes. […] It’s just a small ask, the person thinks. Responding or reacting to incoming asks becomes the narration of your days, instead of the generous work of making your own contribution.
~ Seth Godin
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Playfulness →
To be playful is not to be trivial or frivolous, or to act as if nothing of consequence will happen. On the contrary, when we are playful with one another, we relate as free persons, and the relationship is open to surprise; everything that happens is of consequence, for seriousness is a dread of the unpredictable outcomes of open possibility. To be serious is to press for a specified conclusion. To be playful is to allow for unlimited possibility.
~ James Carse
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Painting a masterpiece →
You can’t really decide to paint a masterpiece. You just have to think hard, work hard, and try to make a painting that you care about. Then, if you’re lucky, your work will find an audience for whom it’s meaningful.
~ Susan Kare
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Connectedness →
The essential challenge is to transform the isolation and self-interest within our communities into connectedness and caring for the whole The key is to identify how this transformation occurs. We begin by shifting our attention from the problems of community to the possibilities of community.
~ Peter Block
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