this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2025
166 points (97.2% liked)

Asklemmy

45440 readers
755 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Even better if you can provide your own understanding of its meaning.

Mine would be :

"Nothing kills a man as much as being forced to represent a country" (and err considering the context, I must stress it has nothing to do with the current US shitshow), by a WW1 soldier, illustrator and writer named Jacques VachΓ©.

For me it just means being forced into representing a group (national, of course, but maybe also social, racial, sexual, professional, any kind of group) or defining one's identity only by reference to a group is to be avoided at all costs.

Note : Its not the same, imho, as engaging in a collective struggle or defense against a common oppression.

How about you?

(page 3) 46 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] RacerX@lemm.ee 18 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.

Earl Nightingale

Someone shared the phrase "The time will pass anyway" with me back when I was working on getting healthier. It was a constant reminder that there was no "best" day to start my journey and that anytime I was set back, I could pick things back up right away.

[–] Xaphanos@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

With that username and that quote, I expect that you are (like me) in your 60s.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] MrSilkworm@lemmy.ml 27 points 1 day ago

The less you know about your history, the easier it is to imagine you'd always be on the right side of it.

[–] Berttheduck@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 day ago

Be excellent to each other and party on dudes.

Genuinely how I try to live my life, be kind and helpful to others and enjoy myself doing it.

[–] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"we are born alone, we live alone, and we die alone. it is only through love and relationships that we create the illusion that we are not alone"

[–] BmeBenji@lemm.ee 9 points 1 day ago

If the point of this one is to emphasize how no one lives your life except for you, that’s great and all but holy shit there are less depressing ways of getting that across.

Humanity is a social animal. If you live your life under the guidance that loneliness is omnipresent and companionship is merely an illusion I strongly urge you to rethink the way you go about your days. Find people to talk to in person and do things with them.

I think capitalism and the ruling class has desperately tried to convince everyone that they are alone because if the working class sees themself as one body the ruling class is fucked

[–] otacon239@lemmy.world 39 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The opposite of love is not hate, but apathy.

Truly hating something takes passion, energy and time out of your day. It also taught me that for masters of personal interest, if you truly need to end a relationship with someone, you simply stop responding. It’s far more effective than loudly proclaiming what you feel they do wrong. That will take far more away from you than if you cut ties.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] yax@feddit.org 11 points 1 day ago

Don't be upsetti, eat some spaghetti.

Sounds silly but genuinely helps me not get too upset about things I don't hold much power over. At the end of the day I can still make a pot of spaghetti and enjoy it. I like spaghetti.

[–] CyberMonkey404@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"Who's 'we', paleface?"

It's from a silly joke, so it's not meant to be taken seriously. But I remember it every time some politician or Internet dweller or anything in between uses "we" to describe a position, an opinion, etc. Who's 'we'? Do you dream to speak for others, for me? In my stead?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] tab@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 day ago

"(S)cience tends to progress through younger people, and old ideas tend to die with the originators of those ideas. through this cynical view, science progresses one coffin at a time."

the Sting of the wild p142, J.O. Schmidt

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." - Winnie-the-Pooh

I didn't read Winnie-the-Pooh till I was an adult and when I read this it felt like reading a universal truth everyone should know. It nearly brought me to tears.

[–] Xaphanos@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

It sounds like you might like "The Tao of Pooh".

[–] dajoho@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago

Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.

[–] anarcho_vroom@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"It'll never be the same"
In context, meaning that things can never go back to the way they were... Ever.

For me it's like a grounding statement. Whenever I start thinking about some past time and just want things to go back to how they were, I remember this. My mind shifts to the future and I forget that nostalgic feeling because I remember that it can never be.

Oh, yeah. There's another one like this for me, a very short poem I read when I was a teenager :

"Ah, what are they dreaming...? Those who say, say, say... Yesterday I was there, today I was here"

[–] makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 23 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

That'll do Donkey.. That'll do.

Edit. I mean it. That calming way shrek says it. The idea that enough has been done, and that everything is OK. That I'm ok. It's a lovely, and powerful moment in the film that translates to so many day to day situations.

[–] late_night@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Have you seen Babe? That's where that quote is from originally

[–] DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago

I say "That'll do pig" almost daily. It's basically a tic for me at this point.

I have yes. And I'd forgotten. Thank you. Adds an extra layer.

load more comments (1 replies)

That's so lovely!

[–] Tyrangle@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"They say, 'Evil prevails when good men fail to act.' What they ought to say is, 'Evil prevails.'

Bleak quote from Lord of War that has stuck with me. Reminds me of Sophie Scholl.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I don't necessarily think it's underrated because it's the underpinning of a major religion, but;

Existence is suffering.

The first noble truth of Buddhism that I don't think enough people really grasp.

On first read, those three words sound like an angsty teen being all sad, but a deeper exploration tells us that to expect a life of ease and unending contentment is to set ourselves up for continued disappointment and anguish.

When I first really absorbed the meaning of this it actually made me feel incredible. I am alive, therefore my knee hurts. I am alive, so I'm worried for the welfare of those I love. And when I considered it even further I began to understand that this is something that connects us all, regardless of our status in the world. From the most powerful kings and presidents to those sleeping rough begging for change; we are all fundamentally the same.

For me, it's really helped me to push through boundaries that have stopped me being more assertive with those who are more powerful than I am; managers, bosses and such. My boss worries about stuff the same way I do. It's probably different stuff, sure, but he's still experiencing existential pain.

I am not a Buddhist, nor am I particularly spiritual. But I take a lot of inspiration from that phrase.

[–] glibg@lemmy.ca 14 points 2 days ago

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. -- Franz Kafka

[–] Summa@lemmy.wtf 9 points 1 day ago

No matter how many books , videos you see , you cannot learn how to swim without entering the pool.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim

Underrated Dory wisdom

[–] BreadOven@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Creative minds are uneven, and the best of fabrics have their dull spots.

H.P. Lovecraft

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] pedroparamo@lemm.ee 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Mine is not as deep as yours and kind of cheesy since you see them in posters, Tshirts and stickers etc. it’s β€œpain is temporary, glory is forever.” This sentence helped me get through college while working mad hours just to pay for my tuition while writing essays and studying for exams. I would repeat this over and over to myself just to get through that day or moment hoping things would be better.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Bones heal, chicks dig scars, and the United States of America has the best doctor to daredevil ratios in the world!"

[–] impudentmortal@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Thanks Lance Murdock!

[–] thefactremains@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

β€œThe magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding” Dipen Parmar

[–] BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

A evergreen quote:

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[–] ZagamTheVile@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Time flies, time crawls You're a prisoner trapped between its claws Life sucks, sometimes You gotta learn to live between the lines"

Pretty much as written. Time marches forward no matter how I feel about it. My best friend died, people still sat in traffic on the way to work. My wife said she wanted a divorce, the mailman still brought me bills. I made the best chilli I've ever tasted and my neighbors cat disappeared. You gotta learn to just accept that life is fleeting and carve out your own space. Find your own joy. Bring your own good time. Because life doesn't owe you anything and moaning about it won't make things better.

[–] sam2099@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

[–] jaypatelani@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago

Wen in dbt breath deep

β€œIt only ever ends once, everything before that is just progress” -Jacob from lost lol

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com -4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” -- G. Michael Hopf

"If you want justice, go to a whorehouse. If you wanna get fucked, go to court.":: Primal Fear

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Rated by whom?

load more comments
view more: β€Ή prev next β€Ί