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“If a man crosses a river
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be bad tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because someone is in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you”
―
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be bad tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because someone is in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you”
―
“Rewards and punishment is the lowest form of education.”
―
―
“Happiness is the abscence of the striving for happiness.”
―
―
“Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home!”
―
―
“I cannot tell if what the world considers ‘happiness’ is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness.”
―
―
Shelley’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Shelley’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
2 books
|
9 friends
101 books
|
12 friends
33 books
|
187 friends
50 books
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6 friends
846 books
|
13 friends
0 books
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3 friends
15 books
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13 friends
817 books
|
62 friends
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