Never say, "It's quiet," unless you want to be blamed when all the pagers go off. 

And if you finish the coffee in the lounge, it's on you to refill it. 

 Anhedonia is the lack of interest, enjoyment or pleasure from life's experiences. 

You may not want to spend time with others or do activities that previously made you happy. 

Anhedonia is a common symptom of many mental health conditions.

 It's normal when your interests change throughout your life.

Anhedonia

 

Masochism is more widespread than we realize because it takes an attenuated form. 

The basic dynamism is as follows:

 a human being sees something bad which is coming as inevitable. There is no way he can halt the process; he is helpless. This sense of helplessness generates a need to gain some control over the impending pain -- any kind of control will do. 

This makes sense; the subjective feeling of helplessness is more painful than the impending misery.

 So the person seizes control over the situation in the only way open to him: he connives to bring on the impending misery; he hastens it. 

This activity on his part promotes the false impression that he enjoys pain. Not so. It is simply that he cannot any longer endure the helplessness or the supposed helplessness. 

But in the process of gaining control over the inevitable misery he becomes, automatically, anhedonic. 

Anhedonia sets in stealthily. 

Over the years it takes control of him. For example, he learns to defer gratification; this is a step in the dismal process of anhedonia. 

In learning to defer he gratification he experiences a sense of self-mastery; he has become stoic, disciplined; he does not give way to impulse. He has "control".

 Control over himself in terms of his impulses and control over the external situation. He is a controlled and controlling person. 

Pretty soon he has branched out and is controlling other people, as part of the situation. He becomes a manipulator. 

Of course, he is not consciousily aware of this; all he intends to do is lessen his own sense of impotence.

 But in his task of lessening this sense, he insidiously overpowers the freedom of others.

 Yet, he derives no pleasure from this, no positive psychological gain; all his gains are essential negative.

 

instead of closing your eyes and delaying the inevitable, 

find someone to hold your hand and face it with you.

 

 There's no such thing as a life lived happily ever after.

Unless the happily means simply that we're still alive, that the sun is rising on another day.

 Because with every sunrise comes the possibility of happiness and also the possibility of heartache. 

And sometimes, it's all rolled in together. 

 

Faith is universal. 

Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. 

Some of us pray to Jesus,

 some of us go to Mecca,

 some of us study subatomic particles.

 In the end we are all just searching for truth,

 that which is greater than ourselves

 

At some point you have to make a decision. 

Boundaries don't keep other people out,

 they fence you in. 

Life is messy. 

That's how we're made.

 So you can waste your life drawing lines

... or you can live your life crossing them

 

Even in success, we obsess over what could have been better. 

that self reflection is important. 

We only get better when we admit our shortcomings, acknowledge our limits. 

But there are so many moments along the way to celebrate. 

Some of those moments are bigger than others, and you really don't wanna miss those moments.

 Because believe me , the bad times are gonna find you all on their own.

Intimacy

 

Intimacy is a four syllable word for 

"Here is my heart and soul, please grind them into hamburger, and enjoy." 

It's both desired, and feared. Difficult to live with, and impossible to live without. 

Intimacy also comes attached to life's three R's: relatives, romance, and roommates. 

There are some things you can't escape. And other things you just don't want to know.

 I wish there were a rulebook for intimacy. Some kind of guide to tell you when you've crossed the line. 

It would be nice if you could see it coming, and I don't know how you fit it on a map. You take it where you can get it, and keep it as long as you can. 

And as for rules, maybe there are none. 

Maybe the rules of intimacy are something you have to define for yourself.

 

The human body is a terrible liar. 

Whatever secrets it's keeping, it will tell them all eventually. 

Leprosy, chicken pox, tuberculosis, HIV. We can carry these for years with no physical symptoms. 

But given enough time, the signs will always show up. 

The real question is, what are your body's secrets? And are you ready to know? 

When the body reveals its secrets, there's no turning back. 

The good news is, when the truth is out, you'll know what you're dealing with. 

The bad news is it might already be too late to do anything about it.

 At that point, all you can do is hope you're ready for what comes next. Hope it isn't over. Hope to be saved from pain and loss and despair. 

And most of all, hope that there's something left to save.

The Master's power

He lets all things come and go

effortlessly, without desire.

He never expects results;

thus he is never disappointed.

He is never disappointed;

thus his spirit never grows old.

Superman 4

Madam Secretary, honorable delegates, ladies and gentlemen

for many years now I've lived among you as a a visitor 

seen the beauty of your many cultures 

I felt great joy in your magnificent accomplishments 

I've also seen the folly of your Wars 

as of today I'm not a visitor anymore 

because the earth is my home too 

we can't live in fear 

and I can't stand idly by and watch us stumble into the madness of possible nuclear destruction 

and so I've come to a decision 

I'm going to do what our governments have been unwilling, or unable, to do 

effective immediately I'm going to rid our planet of all nuclear weapons

Superman 4

 Because of budget and other constraints this film was never done properly, though it could have been the biggest and most significant Superman film

During the 80s, everyone was wary of nuclear war, world war 3. There were all those films like The Day After

We knew the concept and threat of MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction In this reality, Kal El, on Earth, as Superman, has the power to step in and stop this.

In the first film we see Jor El tell him how he is forbidden to interfere in human history.

And we see Jonathan Kent tell him "You are here for a reason"

We see Clark, who has spent his whole life as a human on Earth, albeit concealing his abilities, trying to decide how much Superman can or should get involved, or more so, how much should Superman interfere Finally we see him go to the UN to announce his decision that he will rid the Earth of nuclear weapons, removing the possibility of WWII, of MAD, taking that decision away from the human race Superman announces that he is no longer a visitor, he is now a citizen of Earth. Clark has spent his whole life as a citizen of Earth, though nobody knows this The power to destroy the earth in nuclear Armageddon does not actually lie in the hands of the human race anyway, it is in the hands of a few politicians who control the weapons. The citizens of earth would not wipe each other out, but their elected leaders may, and there in no plan for unilateral disarmament, and we know, forty years later there never has been So Clark, who would survive a nuclear war, unharmed, left in whatever the new world would be, makes his decision. He puts on the suits and goes, as Superman, to announce this decision to the world He does not consult with the governments, the leaders, he doesn't need to. He will simply fly to each country, take the weapons, and dispose of them in space It's actually a remarkable story, and only Christopher Reeve could have played this version of Superman, with this storyline It's a fitting tribute to him that this version of Superman changed the world for the better and gave the human race a better future

7 Ages of Man

the Ice Age, 

the Stone Age, 

the Bronze Age, 

the Iron Age, 

the Steel Age 

the Atomic Age

the Information Age 

 Humans have existed for over 100,000 years 

For most of that time, you weren't so different from apes

How long did it take you to discover agriculture

90,000 years 

to get from Hunter-Gatherer to Farmer

How long did it take you to become Industrialists 

about 10,000 years 

Atomic power

200 years 

Computers - the Information Age

50 years 

 

Earth is a stable planet 

- your catastrophes aren't really catastrophes

 - you never had to start over 

 

Many of our most serious conflicts are conflicts within ourselves. 

Those who suppose their judgements are always consistent are unreflective or dogmatic

True philosophy must start from the most immediate and comprehensive fact of consciousness:

 'I am life that wants to live, 

in the midst of life that wants to live”

Dostoevsky never gives up his fundamental trust that every person is human, and therefore motivated by thirst for “pravda.” Dostoevsky leaves us with a remarkable gift: that fantastic realism which helps us see, in daily life and below its surface, the man/God struggle in process – a powerful insight of hope

But when his last words did sound, they smacked of normalcy – if not mediocrity. Those words, proffered to his wife on the 9th of February 1881 were, “I loved you and did not cheat on you once, not even in my thoughts.”

The question of Dostoevsky and the Jews has provoked controversy from the 1870s to the present. Dostoevsky's essay “The Jewish Question,” published in the March 1877 issue of his Diary of a Writer, portrays Jews as implacable enemies of the Russian people and yet calls for their full rights.

Demons is an allegory of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the political and moral nihilism that were becoming prevalent in Russia in the 1860s. A fictional town descends into chaos as it becomes the focal point of an attempted revolution, orchestrated by master conspirator Pyotr Verkhovensky.

 Dostoevsky was not a socialist. While he initially showed some interest in socialist ideas, particularly in his early life, he became a staunch critic of socialism, especially its utopian and atheistic aspects. He viewed socialism as a threat to individual freedom and spiritual values, and his later works, like The Possessed, strongly critique socialist ideology

Dostoevsky often goes into complex topics, purpose and meaning of life, the search for meaning, the nature of free will, the existence of God, religion, the nature of evil, suffering, and morality, prompting us, the readers, to reflect on our beliefs and philosophies

The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder. Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing. To love someone means to see them as God intended them. I can see the sun, but even if I cannot see the sun, I know that it exists.
Did Dostoevsky believe in nihilism? Dostoevsky did not believe in nihilism. Crime and Punishment is designed to show the danger of such a philosophy, since Raskolnikov hurts others, including his own family, due to his belief in nihilism.
Dostoevsky was deeply Eastern Orthodox and religious themes are found throughout his works, especially in those written after his release from prison in 1854.
 Ayn Rand claims in “What Is Romanticism?” In another essay, “Art and Sense of Life,” she explains that she likes Dostoevsky “for his superb mastery of plot structure and for his merciless dissection of the psychology of evil . . .”
Freud believes Dostoevsky's Russian nationalism and religious fanaticism that marked his political philosophy later in life were submissions to father figures as self-inflicted penance: “[He] accepted the undeserved punishment at the hands of the Little Father, the Tsar, as a substitute for the punishment he deserved ...



Tolstoy is considered one of the giants of Russian literature; his works include the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina and novellas such as Hadji Murad and The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis in the 1870s, followed by a profound spiritual awakening. Instead of accepting the world as it was, he saw the need for a new humanistic consciousness. He saw that his family was blessed with a lot of wealth and property while so many other people were going hungry.
Perhaps Tolstoy's most famous work, and also his longest — War and Peace is utterly epic in scope, length, and reputation. The novel is regarded as one of the best ever written, but was actually described by Tolstoy as “not a novel” at all.
"War and Peace" is often considered a challenging read due to its length and the large number of characters, but it's not necessarily difficult in terms of language or complex plot twists. While the sheer size of the book and the initial unfamiliarity with Russian names and relationships can be daunting, many readers find that with a bit of effort, they can get drawn into the story and appreciate the depth and richness of the narrative

There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.
Tolstoy's rejection of “Anna Karenina” mirrored his rejection of conventional societal norms, materialism, and the trappings of the aristocracy.
Tolstoy did believe in God, but his understanding of faith and God was unconventional and evolved throughout his life. He rejected the doctrines and rituals of the Russian Orthodox Church, which he saw as corrupt, and instead developed his own form of Christian belief centered on the ethical teachings of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Moun

Tolstoy took people born a generation or more after the events of 1812 and transposed their ages and relationships. The characters were so true to life that his family recognized themselves as they read the pages of the novel. He also used his eye for telling details to make his characters believable
Leo Tolstoy was not a communist. Despite deploring capitalism and private land ownership, Tolstoy was an anarchist. Tolstoy believed a small, limited government may be necessary, but if the true theories of Christianity were incorporated, there would be no need of a bureaucratic government.
The first sentence of Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina is: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Here Tolstoy means that for a family to be happy, several key aspects must be given (such as good health of all family members, acceptable financial security, and mutual affection) ...

1 Nevertheless, when Dostoevsky died, Tolstoy wrote: “I never saw the man, and never had any direct relations with him, and suddenly when he died I realized that he was the very closest, dearest, and most necessary man for me.”2 One gets the feeling that Tolstoy could only have said this after Dostoevsky died, that ...

Tolstoy wrote that he never sought to part ways with the Russian Orthodox Church, but the more he studied, the more he disagreed with its teachings. [11] Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Church in 1901, following the publication of Resurrection

Turgenev - Dostoyevsky - Tolstoy

 

Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883) was a prominent Russian novelist, playwright, and short-story writer, recognized for his significant contributions to 19th-century literature. Born into a wealthy landowning family, he developed a passion for reading early in life, influenced by both Russian and English literature.

Turgenev mocked Dostoyevsky in his youth, even calling him a "pimple on the nose of literature." Dostoyevsky, in turn, resented Turgenev's wealth and accused him of being out of touch with Russia, sarcastically suggesting he buy a telescope to see the country he so frequently criticized from his home in France

Fathers and Sons ("Отцы и дети"), Turgenev's most famous and enduring novel, appeared in 1862. Its leading character, Eugene Bazarov, considered the "first Bolshevik" in Russian literature, was in turn heralded and reviled as either a glorification or a parody of the 'new men' of the 1860s.

While traveling together in Paris, Tolstoy wrote in his diary, "Turgenev is a bore." His rocky friendship with Tolstoy in 1861 wrought such animosity that Tolstoy challenged Turgenev to a duel, afterwards apologizing.

Turgenev was arrested and then exiled, not imprisoned. Turgenev was a controversial and suspicious person to the authorities. Writing an enthusiastic article about another controversial and suspicious person was the last straw

Dostoevsky has had a profound impact on literature, psychology, and philosophy. Friedrich Nietzsche said about Dostoevsky that he was “the only psychologist I have anything to learn from”. Dostoevsky basically launched Existentialism with his Notes from the Underground, and heavily influenced Camus, Kafka, and Sartre

The very heart of Dostoevsky's teaching is this: we are “creatures,” inextricably flesh and spirit, and will only find joy when we accept this fundamental reality, a paradox which is the ground of our freedom and dignity. His effort to find an image of man in search of God for his time is what makes him timeless.

Dostoevsky was a Slavophile and a nationalist who abhorred European values like capitalism and nihilism. Turgenev, while less radical than Dostoevsky, was a European liberal (Chamberlain 16). While he was living outside of Russia, Turgenev viewed Russians as lazy, passive, and capricious.

Fyodor Dostoevsky is generally regarded as one of Russia's greatest literary figures and a key figure in world literature. His works, such as Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Idiot, are celebrated for their deep psychological insight, exploration of existential themes, and critique of society

Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.

Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing

Dostoevsky's philosophy, primarily explored through his novels, delves into the complexities of human nature, suffering, and the search for meaning. He grappled with themes of free will, morality, faith, and the human condition, often through characters wrestling with internal conflicts and societal pressures. His work is considered foundational to existentialism and has influenced various fields, including psychology and literary criticism

With love one can live even without happiness. To love is to suffer and there can be no love otherwise