Quote of the Day: 31 December 2023 #QotD

“Here is the great news of God’s plan: the very things that will make your mortal life the best it can be are exactly the same things that will make your life throughout all eternity the best it can be!” -Russell M. Nelson

Quote of the Day: 30 December 2023 #QotD

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” -Nick Carraway’s Father, The Great Gatsby
[Always something worth remembering. But then there are those people who have had those advantages. Sometimes they need to be put on blast.]

Quote of the Day: 29 December 2023 #QotD

“[S]tepping outside the scope of one’s expertise can be like stepping off a cliff.” -Thomas Sowell
[Some people seem intent on leaping away from their mountain of expertise. And insisting they're still standing on firm ground while zipping toward the ground.]

Quote of the Day: 28 December 2023 #QotD

“[T]hose who were most haunted by their old mistakes were the least likely to make new ones.” -Andaman Vane (attributed), Tower of Silence
[Here's something to remember as we enter a period of reflection and goal setting coming into the new year.]

Quote of the Day: 27 December 2023 #QotD

“Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.” -G. K. Chesterton
[Love is entered into blindly, at least often, but as love matures, it comes to see so clearly that nothing can be withheld from view.]

Quote of the Day: 26 December 2023 #QotD

“Wrong is wrong, even when you really, really want it not to be. I learned that one the hard way. It’s easy to do the right thing when it doesn’t cost you. Not as easy to do the right thing when your back is to the wall.” -Harry Dresden, Ghost Story
[Yes. Sometimes it costs us a bit to maintain our principles. Other times is costs us a lot. About the only thing that doesn't is adherence to in-group vs. out-group dynamics, or self-serving impulses as a way of life.]

Quote of the Day: 25 December 2023 #QotD

“Jesus Christ was and is our first and forever gift of Christmas.” -Bonnie H. Cordon
[Merry Christmas!

I hope yours is enjoyable and spent with all the people you love the most.]

Quote of the Day: 24 December 2023 #QotD

“Isn’t it interesting that the miraculous event of the birth of Christ and something of the significance of that event was made known only to the very humble, the very holy, and the very wise?” -Dallin H. Oaks
[Happy Christmas Eve!]

Quote of the Day: 23 December 2023 #QotD

“Basic truths cannot change and once a man of insight expresses one of them it is never necessary, no matter how much the world changes, to reformulate them.” -Lt.-Col. Jean V. Dubois, Starship Troopers
[Some people just seem immune to a basic truth simply expressed. Their ability to withstand reason is titanic.]

Quote of the Day: 22 December 2023 #QotD

“Curiosity is not a sin. But we should exercise caution with our curiosity … yes, indeed…” -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
[It's always wise to be cautious when getting out beyond the limits of our knowledge.]

Quote of the Day: 21 December 2023 #QotD

“Music, like truth, is often felt before it is understood.” -Sharlene Habermeyer
[And often, it isn't understood at all.]

Quote of the Day: 20 December 2023 #QotD

“They say the world is a stage. But obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes 
[Nevermind that the audience is sparsely populated, when it's even there at all.]

Quote of the Day: 19 December 2023 #QotD

“[O]ne thing that makes humans different from animals is that they run toward a distress call rather than away from it.” -Terry Pratchett
[A trait usually seen in predators pursuing prey. What we tend to see in humans is a protector seeking to save an imperiled follow member of humanity.]

Quote of the Day: 18 December 2023 #QotD

“Don’t force people to live up to your dreams of who they might be.” -Hoid, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
[It will only hurt your relationship.]

Quote of the Day: 17 December 2023 #QotD

“When we let Him, Jesus Christ helps us speak His love here.” -Gerrit W. Gong

Quote of the Day: 16 December 2023 #QotD

“There is no moment more precious than the exact moment they are living.” -Obert Skye
[You are you now, not sometime in the past or future. Live your life, and enjoy the moments that make it up.]

Quote of the Day: 15 December 2023 #QotD

“People can be very sincere when presupposing their own superiority.” -Thomas Sowell
[This is probably something to which I am myself susceptible. Though I try to counter it when I think about it. I know for sure that I notice it in others.]

Quote of the Day: 14 December 2023 #QotD

“You see, the law itself is not capable of stopping evil from happening. It is only there to punish the perpetrator after the crime has gone down—which means that the victims are already dead, or raped, or had their life and property destroyed, et cetera, and it is too late to save them.” -Larry Correia
[But people who fail to engage with actual thought keep insisting that if we just outlaw everything conditions will simply have to improve. After all, they assert, it's illegal.]

Quote of the Day: 13 December 2023 #QotD

“All moral reform must start in the active not the passive will.” -G. K. Chesterton

[If you aim to see a reform accomplished, you can't sit bac and wait for it to appear. You must engage with the world and seek to have it changed.]

Quote of the Day: 12 December 2023 #QotD

“The distinction between good and evil is meaningless if one does not have the freedom to choose between them.” -Uriel, Ghost Story
[This works from more than one perspective. People deprived of the opportunity to exercise agency are not blamable for their actions, and entities that are incapable of choice are likewise blameless.]

Quote of the Day: 11 December 2023 #QotD

“A mind of moderate capacity, which closely pursues one study, must infallibly arrive at great proficiency in that study[.]” -Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein
[A thought that will either give solace or cause opprobrium to certain individuals. For me, it is a matter of hope. I look forward to the further knowledge and skills I will continue to acquire despite my advancing age.]

Quote of the Day: 10 December 2023 #QotD

“He is our mark. If we incorrectly imagine that there is a need for something beyond what He offers, we deny or diminish the scope and power He can have in our lives.” -Dale G. Renlund

Quote of the Day: 9 December 2023 #QotD

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” -Bernardo de la Paz, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
[Ultimately, this is the truth. For everyone, whether they are willing to admit it or not. Most will default to standards of societal behavior, but they could just as easily choose differently.]

Quote of the Day: 8 December 2023 #QotD

“[W]hat’s the point of moaning?” -Fred Weasley, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
[Well, it kind of feels a bit cathartic in the moment. But ultimately, it's either useless or counterproductive. So, I guess there's only the brief catharsis that remains as the point.]

Quote of the Day: 7 December 2023 #QotD

 

“[S]peaking as a parent and educator, I believe the first place for music and arts exposure is in the home.” -Sharlene Habermeyer

[This is really true of almost everything. If you aren't introducing your children to all kinds of domains of knowledge and experience, you are failing as a parent.]

Quote of the Day: 6 December 2023 #QotD

“Friendship is the greatest thing ever.” -Pig, Pearls Before Swine
[I can't disagree. I only wish I were better at being a good friend.]

Quote of the Day: 5 December 2023 #QotD

“Everybody was good at something. The only wicked thing was not finding out what it was in time.” -Tiffany Aching (thought), I Shall Wear Midnight
[But being good at something is, at least partially, a product of caring enough about it to be bad at it for a while first.]

Quote of the Day: 4 December 2023 #QotD

“It feels normal to you. It sometimes takes an outsider to point out how broken something is.” -Nikaro, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
[The perspective of someone outside the situation can be invaluable. You don't know what you don't know, until you are made aware of what you might know.]

Quote of the Day: 3 December 2023 #QotD

“Though choices may have taken you far away from the Savior and His Church, the Master Healer stands at the road that leads home, welcoming you.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote of the Day: 2 December 2023 #QotD

“I think geniuses should be given special considerations.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes 
[Don't we all. Of course, we also all tend to consider ourselves among those genii to whom special consideration ought to be extended.]

Quote of the Day: 1 December 2023 #QotD

“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!” -Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol

[As we enter the Christmas season, this is a good thing to remember. It is something we should be mindful year round, but I would prefer any improvement to no improvement any time.]