Chris Austin
https://www.goodreads.com/chrisxaustin
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currently-reading (12)
read (563)
did-not-finish (0)
fiction (194)
fantasy (95)
dev (70)
mind (44)
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leadership (39)
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leadership (39)
justice (30)
relationships (24)
devops (20)
scifi (20)
cookbook (17)
history (17)
“I've suddenly realized what you mean to me: You create the need which you fill, the hunger you sate.”
― Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me
― Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me
“the term “middle class” concealed a fact long true about this country, that, as Richard Hofstadter said: “It was . . . a middle-class society governed for the most part by its upper classes.” Those upper classes, to rule, needed to make concessions to the middle class, without damage to their own wealth or power, at the expense of slaves, Indians, and poor whites. This bought loyalty. And to bind that loyalty with something more powerful even than material advantage, the ruling group found, in the 1760s and 1770s, a wonderfully useful device. That device was the language of liberty and equality, which could unite just enough whites to fight a Revolution against England, without ending either slavery or inequality.”
― A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present
― A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present
“I have lost my smile,
but don't worry.
The dandelion has it.”
― Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
but don't worry.
The dandelion has it.”
― Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
“To be beautiful means to be yourself.You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don't try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.”
― The Art of Power
― The Art of Power
“Sometimes people ask you: "When is your birthday?" But you might ask yourself a more interesting question: "Before that day which is called my birthday, where was I?"
Ask a cloud: "What is your date of birth? Before you were born, where were you?"
If you ask the cloud, "How old are you? Can you give me your date of birth?" you can listen deeply and you may hear a reply. You can imagine the cloud being born. Before being born it was the water on the ocean's surface. Or it was in the river and then it became vapor. It was also the sun because the sun makes the vapor. The wind is there too, helping the water to become a cloud. The cloud does not come from nothing; there has been only a change in form. It is not a birth of something out of nothing.
Sooner or later, the cloud will change into rain or snow or ice. If you look deeply into the rain, you can see the cloud. The cloud is not lost; it is transformed into rain, and the rain is transformed into grass and the grass into cows and then to milk and then into the ice cream you eat. Today if you eat an ice cream, give yourself time to look at the ice cream and say: "Hello, cloud! I recognize you.”
― No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life
Ask a cloud: "What is your date of birth? Before you were born, where were you?"
If you ask the cloud, "How old are you? Can you give me your date of birth?" you can listen deeply and you may hear a reply. You can imagine the cloud being born. Before being born it was the water on the ocean's surface. Or it was in the river and then it became vapor. It was also the sun because the sun makes the vapor. The wind is there too, helping the water to become a cloud. The cloud does not come from nothing; there has been only a change in form. It is not a birth of something out of nothing.
Sooner or later, the cloud will change into rain or snow or ice. If you look deeply into the rain, you can see the cloud. The cloud is not lost; it is transformed into rain, and the rain is transformed into grass and the grass into cows and then to milk and then into the ice cream you eat. Today if you eat an ice cream, give yourself time to look at the ice cream and say: "Hello, cloud! I recognize you.”
― No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life
Chris’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Chris’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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