Tuesday, May 12, 2009

just a couple of clips from articles i've read lately that have stuck in my mind:
A father...on Christmas Eve puts into one son’s stocking a fine gold watch, and into another son’s, a pile of horse manure. The next morning, the first boy comes to his father and says glumly, “Dad, I just don’t know what I’ll do with this watch. It’s so fragile. It could break.” The other boy runs to him and says, “Daddy! Daddy! Santa left me a pony, if only I can just find it!”
--George Vaillant, as recounted by Joshua Shenk in "What Makes Us Happy?" The Atlantic, 2009

The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n.
--John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667

haha! two very different ways of saying the same thing. ;)

4 comments:

satsumabug said...

One of my yoga teachers said the same thing yesterday. :) A rollercoaster is a thrill for some, torture for others; his kids love being tickled, but his wife, he said, would kill him if he did it to her. :) Things are not fun or painful, except in our minds.

Hope your mind is bringing you fun and joy these days. :)

blaurb said...

thanks lisa! yes that is a good yogi mentality and important to remember. =) it seems like the bay area has been good to and good for you. =)

Tanya said...

Oh sweet quote! Maybe the pony is Mine That Bird!! Miss you - excited to do Everest. I mean Half Dome. =)

blaurb said...

mine that bird!!! ahahaha love it! =)

i miss you too tanya! i'm very excited about everest/half dome- excited to see u! ;) and conquer that mountain!