“Because he needed a friend so desperately, he never found one.”
― Catch-22
― Catch-22
“A truly brave man is ever serene; he is never taken by surprise; nothing ruffles the equanimity of his spirit. In the heat of battle he remains cool; in the midst of catastrophes he keeps level his mind. Earthquakes do not shake him, he laughs at storms. We admire him as truly great, who, in the menacing presence of danger or death, retains his self-possession; who, for instance, can compose a poem under impending peril or hum a strain in the face of death. Such indulgence betraying no tremor in the writing or in the voice, is taken as an infallible index of a large nature—of what we call a capacious mind (Yoyū), which, far from being pressed or crowded, has always room for something more.”
― Bushido, The Soul Of Japan
― Bushido, The Soul Of Japan
“It is extremely difficult to stay alert & attentive instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monolog inside your head.”
― This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
― This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
“It was beyond him to resign himself to some simple, cynical generality about life. Had he been able to do so, he would have been more comfortable. But because he could not, the heaviness in his heart persisted.”
― A Dark Night's Passing
― A Dark Night's Passing
Mark’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Mark’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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