Book Nook Cafe discussion

Please share your favorite quotes with us. :)

Maybe you have a favorite from a book you are currently reading or read in the past? Please share it with us.

Perhaps you have come across a quote that is inspirational. If so share it with the group. :)

Great One!

Most excellent quote!

Writer David Chapman on how to improve your thinking:

"Learn from fields very different from your own. They each have ways of thinking that can be useful at surprising times. Just learning to think like an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a philosopher will beneficially stretch your mind."

Source: How to Think Real Good

One of the most exciting articles i've ever read illustrated examples of scientists reaching outside their own fields (often a field they never considered and approached accidentally). The combined fields produced medicine, scientific theories and other break throughs. I like that quote very much, Alias. Thanks.

Great quote. 🙂

Sampson comes to mind with that Ibsen quote.

Clever quote and quite true in my case, at least.

Love the library quote. So true. 👍

I like the Emerson quote, particularly those last three lines. Thanks.

Barbara wrote: "Love the library quote. So true. 👍"

Barbara, I came across the quote because Marlo Thomas posted it on Facebook. 🙂

madrano wrote: "I like the Emerson quote, particularly those last three lines. Thanks."

Deb, I'm glad you liked it. I wrote it in my journal as a reminder to myself to have that attitude.

Nice, Alias. I like that you record such quotes for yourself, then share them with us as well. Lucky us!

A monk decides to meditate alone. Away from his monastery, he takes a boat and goes to the middle of the lake, closes his eyes and begins to meditate. After a few hours of unperturbed silence, he suddenly feels the blow of another boat hitting his. With his eyes still closed, he feels his anger rising and, when he opens his eyes, he is ready to shout at the boatman who dared to disturb his meditation. But when he opened his eyes, saw that it was an empty boat, not tied up, floating in the middle of the lake ...
At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization and understands that anger is within him; it simply needs to hit an external object to provoke it.

After that, whenever he meets someone who irritates or provokes his anger, he remembers; the other person is just an empty boat. Anger is inside me.

- Thich Nhat Hanh.

Alias Reader wrote: "A monk decides to meditate alone. Away from his monastery, he takes a boat and goes to the middle of the lake, closes his eyes and begins to meditate. After a few hours of unperturbed silence, he s..."

I loved this.

I once read another story about a Buddhist retreat center. A man goes to it to become more centered. He listens to the teacher--the abbot I presume--who teaches, saying when you read ... just read. And when you eat breakfast ... just eat breakfast. One morning soon after, the man notices the abbot, eating breakfast AND reading the newspaper. He approaches the abbot, saying "But you said ..." And the abbot looks up, stopping him with that look ... and he says "When you eat breakfast and read the news paper ... just eat breakfast and read the newspaper."

I related the story to a friend once, who said "I don't get it." And I replied, "I know."

"When you eat breakfast and read the news paper ... just eat breakfast and read the newspaper."

Makes sense to me. 🙂

Larry wrote: "I once read another story about a Buddhist retreat center. A man goes to it to become more centered. He listens to the teacher--the abbot I presume--who teaches, saying when you read ... just read. And when you eat breakfast ... just eat breakfast. One morning soon after, the man notices the abbot, eating breakfast AND reading the newspaper. He approaches the abbot, saying "But you said ..." And the abbot looks up, stopping him with that look ... and he says "When you eat breakfast and read the news paper ... just eat breakfast and read the newspaper."

I related the story to a friend once, who said "I don't get it." And I replied, "I know."

:)

Two neat stories. I really like the empty boat, particularly as traffic near us is getting awful. It's hard not to get angry. All those empty boats!!!!!!

madrano wrote: "Two neat stories. I really like the empty boat, particularly as traffic near us is getting awful. It's hard not to get angry. All those empty boats!!!!!!"

I thought it was a powerful reminder. Unfortunately, like many people, I can be too quick to respond before I have time to collect myself and my thoughts. I have to remember it's my response that often can dictate how I feel about any given situation. Taking a few breaths before I respond can often prevent regrets later.

It's one reason that one of my 22 for 2022 tasks I hope to accomplish is start a small brief meditation practice. Many say it helps you get that "gap" of even a few seconds to breath before you respond. Easier said then done for sure. :)

BTW, the 22 for 2022 idea comes from Gretchen Rubin She and her sister on their podcast each year make a list that corresponds to the year. Some tasks can be simple like make a dentist appointment.

If you scroll down on her website you will see her podcast episode #359, where she reveals her 22 for 2022.
https://gretchenrubin.com/

Delightful idea. I like that both women admit when an item is a carryover from last year. Mention of the will and colonoscopy are good and seemingly simple ones that we delay. I delayed my colonoscopy for several years. It's just making the appointment that was the dramatic first step. I'm human that way. :-)

Fun link. Thanks.

Alias Reader wrote: "A monk decides to meditate alone. Away from his monastery, he takes a boat and goes to the middle of the lake, closes his eyes and begins to meditate. After a few hours of unperturbed silence, he s..."

A motivational speaker I listened to once said "When you squeeze an orange, what comes out? Orange juice. The juice is already inside the orange. If when you get "squeezed" anger comes out, well, it was already in you." Made a lot of sense to me.

Good analogy, Jennifer.

I do feel anger or feeling upset can be justified. I am just looking for the gap before I respond or choose not to respond. That's the key. I want to be able to choose to react or not. I think meditation helps with that. I think I first heard about the "gap" from Pema Chödrön

Finding that gap before expressing negative emotions is probably a goal for many of us, once we realize that we have the power in us to do so.

"People often think it's weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can't learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you can optimize."
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones---James Clear

Nice point, well made.

Good quote. 🙂

Albert Einstein once wrote on a chalkboard:

9 x 1 = 9
9 x 2 = 18
9 x 3 = 27
9 x 4 = 36
9 x 5 = 45
9 x 6 = 54
9 x 7 = 63
9 x 8 = 72
9 x 9 = 81
9 x 10 = 91

Suddenly chaos erupted in the classroom because Einstein made a mistake. Obviously, the correct answer to 9 × 10 isn’t 91. And all his students ridiculed him.

Einstein waited for everyone to be silent and said:

“Despite the fact that I analyzed nine problems correctly, no one congratulated me. But when I made one mistake, everyone started laughing. This means that even if a person is successful, society will notice his slightest mistake. And they'll like that.
So don't let criticism destroy your dreams. The only person who never makes a mistake is someone who does nothing."

Terrific! And what a good point. Or two!

Love Einstein's quote.

“Books are the food of youth, the delight of old age; the ornament of prosperity, the refuge and comfort of adversity; a delight at home, and no hindrance abroad; companions by night, in traveling, in the country.”
— Marcus Tullius Cicero

It's one of the reasons I 💜 winter.

Two good quotes. Combining the two is divine! Snow Day here in Dallas, reading it is!

madrano wrote: Snow Day here in Dallas, reading it is!"

Somehow I don't think of snow and Dallas.

Today in NY it has been gray and raining all day. I think tonight the temp will be lower so freezing sleet and ice may be an issue.

You are right not to think of Dallas & snow in the same sentence. Yesterday we had to go out in it because my eye surgeon told us she would be in her office. The implication being that if she was there, we could be too. And, to be fair, i wanted to get that visit finished.

So, we went out. Before the freeze hit, it had rained heavily, so the roads were ice, covered with snow. Fortunately for us, living in the Dakotas for over a dozen years paid off & Dan knew how to drive in it.

ANYway, as we were driving home, i remember than most of the snows in Dallas that i have experienced have been in February. My first canceled my first date to a birthday party. I didn't regret it, as the lovely snowy flakes linger in my mind to this day. *sigh*

deb

PS I could not believe that the day after the cataract surgery, my distance vision was perfect--unblurred and with distinct sighting. I'm so very happy.

madrano wrote: "PS I could not believe that the day after the cataract surgery, my distance vision was perfect--unblurred and with distinct sighting. I'm so very happy..."

A great outcome. Glad your eyes are doing well. 🙂

madrano wrote: PS I could not believe that the day after the cataract surgery, my distance vision was perfect--unblurred and with distinct sighting. I'm so very happy..."

Excellent ! Sounds like you are in good hands.

madrano wrote: "You are right not to think of Dallas & snow in the same sentence. Yesterday we had to go out in it because my eye surgeon told us she would be in her office. The implication being that if she was t..."

I did hear on the news that people were sliding on the roads in TX due to the bad weather. Glad you got to the doc and back without any issues ! Go Dan ! :)

“A book may lie dormant for fifty years or for two thousand years in a forgotten corner of a library, only to reveal, upon being opened, the marvels or the abysses that it contains, or the line that seems to have been written for me alone. In this respect the writer is not different from any other human being: whatever we say or do can have far-reaching consequences.”
— Marguerite Yourcenar

Alias Reader wrote: "“A book may lie dormant for fifty years or for two thousand years in a forgotten corner of a library, only to reveal, upon being opened, the marvels or the abysses that it contains, or the line tha..."

Alias, by the author of the marvellous Memoirs of Hadrian.

Alias Reader wrote: "I did hear on the news that people were sliding on the roads in TX due to the bad weather. Glad you got to the doc and back without any issues ! Go Dan ! :)...."

Thanks for the comments, folks.

My biggest entertainment was watching cars try to cope with the icy parking lot at our hotel. There is a gentle hill toward the front door & we watched car after car begin up it, only to begin to slowly slide backward. Most figured out there was an alternative, turning left but one stubborn person, just kept trying, giving himself more & more space for a "run up". Cheap thrills. :-)

Larry wrote: "Alias, by the author of the marvellous Memoirs of Hadrian..."

Thanks, Larry, i wondered who she was. I'm not familiar with the name, nor the book, which sounds neat.

Great quote!

Larry wrote: "Alias, by the author of the marvellous Memoirs of Hadrian.
"

I follow the Gretchen Rubin podcast. I see she loves the book and left this comment on GoodReads.

"Gretchen Rubin added it
This is the third time I've read this brilliant, thought-provoking novel; I love it so much. But it's funny: I love it, but I'm surprised that so many other people have loved it too. It's not the kind of book that I'd expect many people to want to read."

madrano wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I did hear on the news that people were sliding on the roads in TX due to the bad weather. Glad you got to the doc and back without any issues ! Go Dan ! :)...."

Thanks for th..."

Driving on icy roads is among the scariest things in the world. So dangerous!

Reading a book three times is a statement, Alias. It must be something else, as Larry indicated.

Barbara, it's the worst driving i've ever tried. My first winter in the Dakotas the roads froze in October & we spent the rest of the winter battling that ice. Quite an introduction after three years living in Phoenix.

madrano wrote: "Larry wrote: "Alias, by the author of the marvellous Memoirs of Hadrian..."

Thanks, Larry, i wondered who she was. I'm not familiar with the name, nor the book, which sounds neat.

Great quote!"

It was one of the first used books that I bought from Amazon. I don't think it was an American first edition, but it was printed in the 1950s.