I ordered my heart to be patient

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Bolster our psychological immune system (via theguardian) : position our perspective in a neutral zone rather than see through a negative bias; try to be in present moment; aim for the meaningful and purposeful; accept how, where/when, and what we are while we are in as we experience difficulties in life.


“… And I ordered my heart to be patient: Be neutral as if you were not of me!” – (Mahmoud Darwish)

AG2023_1056169a or not places at all but abstractions

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“and here—desolate, roughly surfaced, lined with eucalyptus and lemon groves—is Banyan Street.

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into this perfect mold might be poured the inarticulate longings of a nation

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one of those circumstances that satisfy one’s suspicion that life is indeed a scenario […] beautiful in its venality and in its devotion to immediate gratification

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distinguishing between what happened and what merely might have happened, but I remain unconvinced that the distinction, for my purposes, matters

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We must be aware of the dangers which lie in our most generous wishes

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not places at all but abstractions”

-Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays