Libby Davy

“In Elizabethan times lovers were so enamored of each other’s body odors that it was common for a woman to keep a peeled apple in her armpit until it had absorbed her sweat and smell. She would give this “love apple” to her lover to sniff at in her absence. We, on the other hand, use synthetic aromas of fruits and flowers to mask our body odor from our lovers. Which of these two approaches is acquired and which is natural is not so easy to determine. A substance as “naturally” repugnant to us as the urine of cows is used by the Masai tribe in East Africa as a lotion for their hair—a direct consequence of the cow’s importance in their culture. Many tastes we think “natural” are acquired through learning and become “second nature” to us. We are unable to distinguish our “second nature” from our “original nature” because our neuroplastic brains, once rewired, develop a new nature, every bit as biological as our original.”
― Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

“On the other hand, wasn’t that the very definition of life? Constant adaptations brought about by a series of never-ending mistakes?”
― Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry

“Do you think about dying?’ ‘I think about living better because I know I will die. That’s the point, isn’t it? I’m acutely aware I’m closer to my death than my birth.”
― Annie de Monchaux, Audrey's Gone AWOL

“Truth telling doesn’t have to be confrontational, although it may confront. It can be handled with sharpness or softness, but it confronts the usual tacit acceptance of the coachee’s explanations (or excuses). Truth telling refuses to sidestep or overlook: it boldly points out when the emperor is not wearing clothes. There is no inherent judgment in telling the truth. Coaches are merely stating what they see. Withholding the truth serves neither the coachee nor the coaching relationship. A real relationship is not built on being nice; it’s built on being real.”
― Henry Kimsey-House, Co-Active Coaching: The proven framework for transformative conversations at work and in life