[INFJ] - A philosophical quote that has altered your perspective: | INFJ Forum

[INFJ] A philosophical quote that has altered your perspective:

BXM

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Jul 15, 2023
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One of the things I take to is finding thought-provoking quotes/sayings that impact my reality.
For example, one quote that stands out to me:

“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."


What are some you have?
 
One of the things I take to is finding thought-provoking quotes/sayings that impact my reality.
For example, one quote that stands out to me:

“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."


What are some you have?

Hi BXM and welcome to the forum. I don't have any particular favourite quotes but find many that twinkle like stars in a clear night sky - I'm copying these across from my earlier post in your PM :).

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“All over the world, young males and females, schooled in the art of patriarchal thinking, are building an identity on a foundation that sees the will to do violence as the essential way to assert being.”

- bell hooks
 
“There is only one way to salvation, and that is to make yourself responsible for all men's sins. As soon as you make yourself responsible in all sincerity for everything and for everyone, you will see at once that this is really so, and that you are in fact to blame for everyone and for all things.”

- Father Zosima (Brothers Karamazov)
 
“There is only one way to salvation, and that is to make yourself responsible for all men's sins. As soon as you make yourself responsible in all sincerity for everything and for everyone, you will see at once that this is really so, and that you are in fact to blame for everyone and for all things.”

- Father Zosima (Brothers Karamazov)

Hi philostam,
In what way has this quote altered your perspective/reality?
 
Hi philostam,
In what way has this quote altered your perspective/reality?

Hi, AJ.

It's just an insane quote, isn't it. In my family we had a deep tradegy/trauma when I was around 5, and when I started investigating it later I found out that no one wants to take responsibility for what happened. Everyone is blaming somebody else. And in my opinion it's everyone's fault, because a single good person in the family could've prevented what happened. I think this is what the quote is getting at. Of course the further you zoom out from your family, community and country, the harder it is to feel responsible for what happens in the world. Certainly the quote is an exaggeration in this sense, but there's a lot of truth in it. A single individual has a lot of power and influence.
 
Hi, AJ.

It's just an insane quote, isn't it. In my family we had a deep tradegy/trauma when I was around 5, and when I started investigating it later I found out that no one wants to take responsibility for what happened. Everyone is blaming somebody else. And in my opinion it's everyone's fault, because a single good person in the family could've prevented what happened. I think this is what the quote is getting at. Of course the further you zoom out from your family, community and country, the harder it is to feel responsible for what happens in the world. Certainly the quote is an exaggeration in this sense, but there's a lot of truth in it. A single individual has a lot of power and influence.
There are parallels to this idea in the great world religions - the Buddhas who keep returning to life and keep doing so until everyone is freed from Samsara, and the Christian idea that salvation for individuals isn't complete for anyone as long as there are others who are wandering, lost.
 
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"Idealists are foolish enough to throw caution to the winds. They have advanced mankind and enriched the world." - Sydney J. Harris
 
Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.

The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.

There is a time for being ahead,
a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.

The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
He lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

Lao Tsu