Alexandra B

“Idealuri? Idealurile sunt in cultura, in aer. Le inspiri. Toti printre care am crescut au inhalat aceleasi idealuri. Toti voiam sa iesim din ghetou, sa crestem in lume, sa avem succese, bogatie, respectabilitate. Asta voia toata lumea! Nici unul n-a stat sa-si aleaga deliberat idealurile - ele se aflau acolo, pur si simplu, consecinte naturale ale epocii, ale poporului meu, ale familiei mele. ... - Dar n-au fost destul de solide, Josef. Probabil ar putea fi destul de solide pentru unii, pentru cei care nu vad prea departe, pentru alergătorii inceti. Dar tu, ca si mine, ai vederea buna. Ai privit prea departe in viata.”
― Yalom D. Irvin - Plansul lui Nietzsche

“It seemed to me that Rita’s current despair about Myron was tied to an old despair, and that was why it was hard for her to enjoy any of the ways her life had expanded. She was used to viewing the world from a place of deficit, and as a result, joy felt foreign to her. If you’re used to feeling abandoned, if you already know what it’s like for people to disappoint or reject you—well, it may not feel good, but at least there are no surprises; you know the customs in your own homeland. Once you step into foreign territory, though—if you spend time with reliable people who find you appealing and interesting—you might feel anxious and disoriented. All of a sudden, nothing’s familiar. You have no landmarks, nothing to go by, and all of the predictability of the world you’re used to is gone. The place you came from may not be great—it might, in fact, be pretty awful—but you knew exactly what you’d get there (disappointment, chaos, isolation, criticism).”
― Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

“Above all, I didn't want to fall into the trap that Buddhists call idiot compassion - an apt phrase, given John's worldview. In idiot compassion, you avoid rocking the boat to spare people's feelings, even though the boat needs rocking and your compassion ends up being more harmful than your honesty. People do this with teenagers, spouses, addicts, even themselves. Its opposite is wise compassion, which means caring about the person but also giving him or her a loving truth bomb when needed.”
― Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

“But part of getting to know yourself is to unknow yourself—to let go of the limiting stories you’ve told yourself about who you are so that you aren’t trapped by them, so you can live your life and not the story you’ve been telling yourself about your life.”
― Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed