“If patience wasn’t so easily tested, then it would hardly be a virtue. . . .”
― A Gentleman in Moscow
― A Gentleman in Moscow
“unless reason puts an end to our tears, fortune will not do so.”
― A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
― A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
“Talk depletes us. Talking and doing fight for the same resources. Research shows that while goal visualization is important, after a certain point our mind begins to confuse it with actual progress. The same goes for verbalization.”
― Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent
― Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent
“the contents of the bottle in his hand was the product of a history as unique and complex as that of a nation, or a man. In its color, aroma, and taste, it would certainly express the idiosyncratic geology and prevailing climate of its home terrain. But in addition, it would express all the natural phenomena of its vintage. In a sip, it would evoke the timing of that winter’s thaw, the extent of that summer’s rain, the prevailing winds, and the frequency of clouds. Yes, a bottle of wine was the ultimate distillation of time and place; a poetic expression of individuality itself.”
― A Gentleman in Moscow
― A Gentleman in Moscow
“Because I am starting to think that talking about the sadness might be the same thing as processing the sadness. And if we’re not doing that, then we only have our thoughts for company, and our thoughts are unreliable and they invent things and they lie to us and give bad advice. Not talking about the sadness is what leads us into The Madness.”
― Good Material
― Good Material
Piyal’s 2025 Year in Books
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