Beware of the Illusion of Knowledge

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin

When you have a very strong FEELING that something is true, often it isn't.
WANTING something to be true doesn't make it true.
Likewise, being AFRAID that something is true doesn't make it true either.

Truth is not defined by
how many people believe something.
Ask. Question. Think.
Decide - for yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Further reading: Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind

The Danger of Assumptions

Truth isn't True. Reality isn't Real.
    

 

Make a Positive Difference

 

The true measure of success in life is how many other lives you made better.
- Jeff Hoffman

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children,
to leave the world a better place,
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived,
this is to have succeeded.
- Bessie A. Stanley (commonly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Almost nothing you worry about today
will matter in a hundred years.
Think carefully about what you can focus on today.
Choose tasks that will actually make a positive difference
to your great-grandchildren.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Life is no brief candle to me.
It is a sort of splendid torch
which I have got a hold of for the moment,
and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible
before handing it on to future generations.
- George Bernard Shaw

It is not what we get.
But who we become, what we contribute...
that gives meaning to our lives.
- Tony Robbins

Further reading: Serve Others

Pass the Torch

To Live, Not Merely To Exist

Recognize Our Abundance
     

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple

 

When a thing is funny, search it for a hidden truth.
- George Bernard Shaw

Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.
- Soren Kierkegaard

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.
- Oscar Wilde

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.
- George Carlin

Can you let go of words and ideas,
attitudes and expectations?
If so, then the Tao will loom into view.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: Life is a Riddle

Accept that Life is Complex and Contradictory
    

Beware the Illusion of Knowledge

 

To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows
will lead to difficulty.
- Lao Tzu

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Truth is not defined by
how many people believe something.
Ask. Question. Think.
Decide - for yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you have a very strong FEELING that something is true, often it isn't.
WANTING something to be true doesn't make it true.
Likewise, being AFRAID that something is true doesn't make it true either.

Further reading: Truth isn't True. Reality isn't Real.

The Danger of Assumptions

Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind
    

Focus on the Positives in Your Life

 

Write your Sad times in Sand,
Write your Good times in Stone.
- George Bernard Shaw

Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts,
cause your mind to dwell on peace and joy.
- Ernest Holmes

If only the people who worry about their liabilities
would think about the riches they do possess,
they would stop worrying.
- Dale Carnegie

He who spends time regretting the past,
loses the present and risks the future.
- Quevedo

Further reading: 12 Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat

Feeling Depressed?

When It's Darkest

Count Your Blessings - Not Your Troubles

Overcoming Anxiety

Five Questions to Ask Yourself When You Feel Sad for No Apparent Reason
    

Always Be Open to Making a Change

 

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Note that the problem isn't with "consistency," but with "foolish consistency."
What makes a habitual action "foolish?" Ask yourself whether it serves you, or whether you serve it.

Progress is impossible without change,
and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
- George Bernard Shaw

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

When what you are doing is frustrating you, STOP.
Pause to consider the true importance of the task.
Reflect on whether there is a better plan for reaching your goal.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Beginning Today, Make Fresh Choices

No Need to Conform

Our Habits

Your Whole Toolkit
      

Practice Empathy

 

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
- Colossians 3:12

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures
is not to hate them,
but to be indifferent to them:
that's the essence of inhumanity.
- George Bernard Shaw

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Compassion is the basis of morality.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

It is my choice to care deeply about others.
No kindness is too small to be important -
the smile to the bank teller,
the sincere "thank you" for all kindnesses received,
the reassuring hand on the shoulder of a loved one or friend.
There is compassion in selfless generosity,
but there is also compassion in heartfelt empathy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: What Does Compassion Look Like?

Full Measure of a Person

Feed the Children

Be of Service

Take Charge of Your Life - 9 Secrets for Getting Un-Stuck
       

Keep yourself clean and bright

 

God looks at the clean hands, not the full ones.
- Publilius Syrus

You can learn a lot from people who view the world differently than you do.
- Anthony J. D'Angelo
 
Better keep yourself clean and bright;
you are the window through which
you must see the world.
- George Bernard Shaw

Today's affirmation:
I approach life with an Open Mind,
Clean Hands, and a Loving Heart.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Art of Seeing

Choose the World You See

Each Other's Eyes

Simply Marvelous
    

Spur for Inquiry

 

What is my purpose in sending these Daily Quotes and Inspirations, as I have been doing since 2008?
Some of these messages are intended to provide a small measure of comfort, but most of these messages are intended to challenge my readers to deeper thinking.

Short quotations/aphorisms are by their nature incomplete, and almost always present only one side of an issue. Long-time readers will also notice that I often present quotations that contradict each other - for example, some exhort the reader to work harder/smarter while others encourage placing a relatively low priority on work.

My hope is that these daily messages will get you thinking about new ideas. Let's take these aphorisms as a spur for inquiry. Let those ideas with which you disagree start you thinking, talking and questioning, but also let the comfortable, familiar, and inspiring quotes become a source of questioning. Remember that our comfortable inspiring quotes are also never 100% true in all situations. Open Minds - Open Hearts. Thank you for reading these daily messages.
Read more about this at Inspirational/Motivational Quotes - Spur for Inquiry

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

Look for what is,
and not for what you think should be.
- Albert Einstein [paraphrase]

What is a scientist after all?
It is a curious man looking through a keyhole,
the keyhole of nature, trying to know what's going on.
- Jacques Yves Cousteau

Intense feeling too often obscures the truth.
- Harry S. Truman

All truths are easy to understand
once they are discovered;
the point is to discover them.
- Galileo Galilei

Do not limit yourself to either analysis or emotion.
Look deeply into the DNA of its seeds,
AND appreciate the intoxicating grandeur of the forest.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Be a Seeker

Lifelong Learning

Inquiry

Conscious Learning

Discovery
    

Why Not

 

Ask not why it happened, but what you are going to do about it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask "Why?"
I dream of things that never were, and ask "Why not?"
- Robert F. Kennedy paraphrase of George Bernard Shaw

When faith and hope fail, as they do sometimes,
we must try charity, which is love in action.
We must speculate no more on our duty,
but simply do it.
When we have done it, however blindly,
perhaps Heaven will show us why.
- Dinah Maria Mulock

Always question WHY you are doing something.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Your Attitude is Your Window

Moving Forward

An Unknowable Future

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Why?

We Come This Way But Once
       

Never Succumb to the Illusion of Knowledge

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin

When you have a very strong FEELING that something is true, often it isn't.
WANTING something to be true doesn't make it true.
Likewise, being AFRAID that something is true doesn't make it true either.

Truth is not defined by
how many people believe something.
Ask. Question. Think.
Decide - for yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Further reading: Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind

The Danger of Assumptions

Truth isn't True. Reality isn't Real.
    

What You Do for Others

The true measure of success in life is how many other lives you made better.
- Jeff Hoffman

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children,
to leave the world a better place,
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived,
this is to have succeeded.
- Bessie A. Stanley (commonly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Almost nothing you worry about today
will matter in a hundred years.
Think carefully about what you can focus on today.
Choose tasks that will actually make a positive difference
to your great-grandchildren.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Life is no brief candle to me.
It is a sort of splendid torch
which I have got a hold of for the moment,
and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible
before handing it on to future generations.
- George Bernard Shaw

It is not what we get.
But who we become, what we contribute...
that gives meaning to our lives.
- Tony Robbins

Further reading: Serve Others

Pass the Torch

To Live, Not Merely To Exist

Recognize Our Abundance
     

The Hidden Truth

When a thing is funny, search it for a hidden truth.
- George Bernard Shaw

Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.
- Soren Kierkegaard

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.
- Oscar Wilde

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.
- George Carlin

Can you let go of words and ideas,
attitudes and expectations?
If so, then the Tao will loom into view.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: Life is a Riddle

Accept that Life is Complex and Contradictory
    

Beware of False Knowledge

To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows
will lead to difficulty.
- Lao Tzu

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Truth is not defined by
how many people believe something.
Ask. Question. Think.
Decide - for yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you have a very strong FEELING that something is true, often it isn't.
WANTING something to be true doesn't make it true.
Likewise, being AFRAID that something is true doesn't make it true either.

Further reading: Truth isn't True. Reality isn't Real.

The Danger of Assumptions

Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind
    

Focus on the Good Times

Write your Sad times in Sand,
Write your Good times in Stone.
- George Bernard Shaw

Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts,
cause your mind to dwell on peace and joy.
- Ernest Holmes

If only the people who worry about their liabilities
would think about the riches they do possess,
they would stop worrying.
- Dale Carnegie

He who spends time regretting the past,
loses the present and risks the future.
- Quevedo

Further reading: 12 Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat

Feeling Depressed?

When It's Darkest

Count Your Blessings - Not Your Troubles

Overcoming Anxiety

Five Questions to Ask Yourself When You Feel Sad for No Apparent Reason
    

Never Stop Asking: Is Now a Time for a Change?

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Note that the problem isn't with "consistency," but with "foolish consistency."
What makes a habitual action "foolish?" Ask yourself whether it serves you, or whether you serve it.

Progress is impossible without change,
and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
- George Bernard Shaw

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

When what you are doing is frustrating you, STOP.
Pause to consider the true importance of the task.
Reflect on whether there is a better plan for reaching your goal.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Beginning Today, Make Fresh Choices

No Need to Conform

Our Habits

Your Whole Toolkit
      

Morality Naturally Follows Compassion

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
- Colossians 3:12

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures
is not to hate them,
but to be indifferent to them:
that's the essence of inhumanity.
- George Bernard Shaw

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Compassion is the basis of morality.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

It is my choice to care deeply about others.
No kindness is too small to be important -
the smile to the bank teller,
the sincere "thank you" for all kindnesses received,
the reassuring hand on the shoulder of a loved one or friend.
There is compassion in selfless generosity,
but there is also compassion in heartfelt empathy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: What Does Compassion Look Like?

Full Measure of a Person

Feed the Children

Be of Service

Take Charge of Your Life - 9 Secrets for Getting Un-Stuck
       

Keep Your Hands Clean and Your Mind Open

God looks at the clean hands, not the full ones.
- Publilius Syrus

You can learn a lot from people who view the world differently than you do.
- Anthony J. D'Angelo
 
Better keep yourself clean and bright;
you are the window through which
you must see the world.
- George Bernard Shaw

Today's affirmation:
I approach life with an Open Mind,
Clean Hands, and a Loving Heart.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Art of Seeing

Choose the World You See

Each Other's Eyes

Simply Marvelous
    

Facts AND Feelings

What is my purpose in sending these Daily Quotes and Inspirations, as I have been doing since 2008?
Some of these messages are intended to provide a small measure of comfort, but most of these messages are intended to challenge my readers to deeper thinking.

Short quotations/aphorisms are by their nature incomplete, and almost always present only one side of an issue. Long-time readers will also notice that I often present quotations that contradict each other - for example, some exhort the reader to work harder/smarter while others encourage placing a relatively low priority on work.

My hope is that these daily messages will get you thinking about new ideas. Let's take these aphorisms as a spur for inquiry. Let those ideas with which you disagree start you thinking, talking and questioning, but also let the comfortable, familiar, and inspiring quotes become a source of questioning. Remember that our comfortable inspiring quotes are also never 100% true in all situations. Open Minds - Open Hearts. Thank you for reading these daily messages.
Read more about this at Inspirational/Motivational Quotes - Spur for Inquiry

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

Look for what is,
and not for what you think should be.
- Albert Einstein [paraphrase]

What is a scientist after all?
It is a curious man looking through a keyhole,
the keyhole of nature, trying to know what's going on.
- Jacques Yves Cousteau

Intense feeling too often obscures the truth.
- Harry S. Truman

All truths are easy to understand
once they are discovered;
the point is to discover them.
- Galileo Galilei

Do not limit yourself to either analysis or emotion.
Look deeply into the DNA of its seeds,
AND appreciate the intoxicating grandeur of the forest.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Be a Seeker

Lifelong Learning

Inquiry

Conscious Learning

Discovery
    

Look Beyond

Ask not why it happened, but what you are going to do about it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask "Why?"
I dream of things that never were, and ask "Why not?"
- Robert F. Kennedy paraphrase of George Bernard Shaw

When faith and hope fail, as they do sometimes,
we must try charity, which is love in action.
We must speculate no more on our duty,
but simply do it.
When we have done it, however blindly,
perhaps Heaven will show us why.
- Dinah Maria Mulock

Always question WHY you are doing something.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Your Attitude is Your Window

Moving Forward

An Unknowable Future

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Why?

We Come This Way But Once