Effervescent.
Anybody can die for it. But will you live for it? Will you live without it, and still love it? Will you shape your whole life for it? Dedicate all of your time, and energy, and mental willpower to push yourself to overcome all the common follies of man so that you can just scratch the surface of what you’re capable of? Can you go farther? Go beyond that?
Of course you can die for it. But are you willing to live for it?
Courage.
“A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that.”
- King Baldwin IV ‘Kingdom of Heaven’
Ligature.
"I just have it," he said. "I can't explain it. You either have it or you don't, and I do. People always think there's an answer to everything, but there isn't. How can you do that? I don't know. I just can. When people see something they've never seen before, the first thing they say is, 'How did you do that?' The next thing is, 'Can you teach me?' The answer is no because you don't have it."
- Barry Bonds
The Story of the Little Frog.
A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, “But I was told by others to do thus.” Or that, “Virtue was not convenient at the time.” This will not suffice. Remember that.”
- King Baldwin IV in Kingdom of Heaven
My Superpower.
"Believing in yourself can be a lot like religion. You have to believe in something that’s not there. With full faith that in reality, it is. But unlike religion, our self belief leads us to a point in life. Self belief has somewhat of an end. Religion, or belief in God, however, is really support on the journey. At least that’s how I see it.”
Living Photographs.
Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
– Maya Angelou
Irreplaceable.
“I soon learned that one wins awards mainly for winning awards: an example of what Bob Merton calls the Matthew Effect. It is akin also to the phenomenon known in politics as “availability,” or name recognition. Once one becomes sufficiently well known, one’s name surfaces automatically as soon as an award committee assembles.”
-Bob Merton
Breaker Room.
“There is a crack, a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.”
-Leonard Cohen
The Contract.
“What is essential is invisible to the eye. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.”
-Antoine de Saint Exupery “The Little Prince”
Interlude.
“Your remedy is within you, but you do not sense it. Your sickness is from you, but you do not perceive it. You presume you are a small entity, but within you is enfolded the entire universe. You are indeed the evident book, by whose alphabet the hidden becomes the manifest. Therefore, you have no need to look beyond yourself. What you seek is within you, if only you reflect.”
- Imam Ali
The Story of Shara.
“That is the thing with giving your heart. You never wait for someone to ask. You hold it out and hope they want it.”
- Suzanna Collins ‘Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’
The Story of Shara.
“Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Stand tall and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong.”
-Godfrey de Ibelin “Kingdom of Heaven”