Tolstoy respected all expressions of faith, and he incorporated them in his writing. He quotes the Koran, the Talmud, the Upanishads, Schopenhauer, along with his Russian Orthodox Bible. He understands the games we all play, and calls us on our bullshit. I'd like to share a few:
"To get rid of an enemy one must love him. "
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it."
"Every heart has its own skeletons."
"I am always with myself, and it is I who am my tormentor."
"There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail, there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out no matter how dark the world becomes."
"Hell is the inability to love."
"We should show life neither as it is or as it ought to be, but only as we see it in our dreams."
"I have learned what must be, and therefore have come to see the whole horror of what is."
"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."
"Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them."
"If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war." from War and Peace
"Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them."
"Is it really possible to tell someone else what one feels?" from Anna Karenina (I like this quote a lot.)
"When you love someone, you love the person as they are, and not as you'd like them to be."
"Every lie is a poison; there are no harmless lies. Only the truth is safe. Only the truth gives me consolation."
"Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed. " from Anna Karenina
"To get rid of an enemy one must love him. "
"We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom." from War and Peace. (This quote evokes the Upanishads and the Daodejing.)
“Let us forgive each other - only then will we live in peace”
Which one do you like the best? Which one is silly to you?
"To get rid of an enemy one must love him. "
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like the notion that when a person changes himself or his mind, he changesd everything.
Hello CV - long time, no see.
ReplyDeleteLife has changed for many recently and seems we are all looking at dealing with it in new ways.
Although still not accepting the BS thrown at us daily, one must fight it when those around you help continue to perpetuate it ; (
Sorry to hear about "stuff" but glad to hear you are on the mend!
Cheers!
Tinkerbell: Tolstoy is right about that one--the enemies, but I know I am unable to do that one on my own--they are called enemies for a reason. Something has to shift in me and that is where your other comment is so applicable. I really like that one quote from Anna K.
ReplyDeleteCoffee! Dude, so good to see you. I will link you.
"To get rid of an enemy one must love him. "
ReplyDeletepractically almost impossible...or, atleast, i've not sen anyone with this quality.
I liked these two-
"We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom."
“Let us forgive each other - only then will we live in peace”
Hari, I think you need God to help you do that--I know there are some people I don't have the strength to forgive. But it did make me look up the definition of forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteI like the one about the soul. I also like his relationship to truth. He writes a lot about that in his later works.
You quoted a Russian intellectual. YOU COMMIE TRAITOR!!!
ReplyDeleteMy fav from the list is ""I am always with myself, and it is I who am my tormentor."
I love the two toons you've used in this post too!
Thanks, SJ. Are the Russians still commies?
ReplyDeleteThat quote describes me all too well. John always tells me I'm too hard on myself.
this one has resonated with me for a long, long time
ReplyDelete"To get rid of an enemy one must love him. "
and goes hand in glove with
"Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them."
take five plus two: gracefully in E flat
an enemy is merely who
bedevils one's own mind
stirring up in turmoil'd flow
emotion's cast off rind
which getting caught, crosswise,
is not for only painful hearts
but ties into those stony views
that keep these lives apart.
a fonder touch so feather light
bestowed upon my son
turned philip to a treasured name
from a former hated one.
divorce may come to enmity
when mouths tell only lies
an old dead wedding date in tatters
is now my daughter's birth surprise.
Namaste
"Happiness does not depend on outward things"
ReplyDeleteSo simple, but undeniably true.
Thanks for the link. :)