quotes

Travel

Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks – on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.

You’d Be a Fool to Miss It

This quote showed up on my Facebook feed the other day (h/t Anne), so I don’t know the context. It’s so lovely that I just had to share.
Go outside. Don’t tell anyone and don’t bring your phone. Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand, because we walk the same roads day in and day out, to the bus and back home and we cease to see. We walk in our sleep and teach our muscles to work without thinking and I dare you to walk where you have not yet walked and I dare you to notice. Don’t try to get anything out of it, because you won’t. Don’t try to make use of it, because you can’t. And that’s the point. Just walk, see, sit down if you like. And be. Just be, whatever you are with whatever you have, and realise that that is enough to be happy. There’s a whole world out there, right outside your window. You’d be a fool to miss it.
– Charlotte Eriksson

Our Right

We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision and move on with their lives. We need to say that is their right, and, moreover, it’s good for everyone that they have this right: The whole society benefits when motherhood is voluntary.

Read the full NYT opinion piece here.

The Glass is Already Broken

This post was great, but this portion in particular resonated with me:

temporary

As someone who sometimes fears lack of control and spends more time than I’d like in a wistful state of mind, this is a lovely perspective. Whenever emotions — fear, sadness, regret, anger — get the best of me, nothing brings me back down to earth more than the reminder that everything is temporary.

At my most zen, I’m able to channel this. I’ve noticed, however, that it can be perceived as aloof, cold, or dark. I get that, but it’s not meant to be any of those things. By embracing the impermanence of life and everything in it, I’m able to be my most appreciative.

…On the other hand, can this way of thinking manifest into self-fulfilling prophecies? If you already understand that the glass is already broken, are you less careful in handling it?

(h/t Matt Mullenweg)

How Did I Miss This?

I can’t help but love jokes about tech and legal terms. From the “GryzzlBox” episode of Parks and Recreation:

Ron Swanson, with a massive stack of paper: This is the 27th version of the Pawnee-Gryzzl free wireless internet thing agreement. Check out the page I marked.

Ben Wyatt: Yeah, “Gryzzl is not allowed to collect and use customer data for any purpose.” It’s pretty clear. See? 

Ron Swanson: Look closer. Amendment C, addendum 14. It directs you to this appendix, which reroutes you to this one, which says, in a sub-footnote… [hands Ben Wyatt more stacks of paper and a magnifying glass].

Ben: It says here they can gather and use any information they want. …How did I miss this?