A couple more quotes

So, I am proud to say that I am a BlackBerry owner and I am addicted to it.  One of the reasons is because of a program I have on it called viigo.  It allows you to subscribe to RSS feeds (like my blog or Google Reader or any news site etcetera) and it will show you the headlines in a pretty easy to read format.  If you want more information, you can view the full article right there on your phone (most of the time).  Two of the feeds I subscribe to are The Quotations Page quotes of the day and the Buddhist thought of the day.  Below are a couple of quotes that I particularly like...

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. - Thomas Jefferson

I think Jefferson's quote can be generalized a bit and have it still retain its meaning (and yes, I realize this is obvious, but i still feel a need to say it).  I think we can take this quote to say that in things that are rather trivial, do what you want.  If that is to conform to the status quo, go for it.  But in matters that are actually meaningful, figure out where you stand and stick with your convictions.

One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a human. - Goethe

I think this quote is very similar to Edmund Burke's "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."  To me, they are both saying that while we may have lofty goals of being impossibly generous and helping, we need to realize that even actions that do not meet these unattainable standards are worth doing.

Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

Okay, this one is also very obvious, but very insightful.  If we hold onto our anger, we let it distract us from more important things (such as happiness).  It is important to realize when people are doing things expressly to make us angry and when people do things that unintentionally make us angry.  I think this issue can be solved by yet another quote (that I think I posted before... just like the Burke quote).  This one is Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.  There is no sense in allowing yourself to be wrapped up in anger when somebody says or does something which makes you angry when they had no intention of making you angry in the first place.  I would suggest that if you are angry about something, figure out why you are angry and whether the source of the anger meant to anger you or not.  And in either case, calmly explain why it is that you're angry and just let it go...