Asklemmy

"Many that live deserve death and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends." Gandalf, Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring

For some reason, this quote (and the entirety of Gollum's story) has stuck itself in my head. I guess I interpret this as a message to not be so quick to judge death upon another person, no matter what they had done. You never know what their future will be like, and cutting their lives off would mean losing out on the potential benefits that their future might bring. Even bad people can contribute good things. I know that this is just my personal opinion, and a lot of people probably won't agree with this, but this is the lesson that I got from Gollum's story.

Oof, I have quite a lot. One of my favourites is, "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

I find it immensely relatable, as I think a huge number of problems in the world today stem from simply apathy. People who say they dislike the state of the world and even that they want to change it, but refuse to do absolutely anything at all, being perfectly content to just let bad things happen.

"The name's Bond, James Bond". Because of that quote, I have never failed to remember James Bond's name.

'Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.' - Maya Angelou

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me

“Don’t regret. Remember.” From the movie “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” Changed how I think about a lot of the events in my past. The director said that fans have come up to her and shown her tattoos of that line, so it’s not just me.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..n..n.. we can’t get fooled again. — GWB

May the bridges I burn light the way.

Decide what you're gonna do before you do it.

When I was like 8, a liftee at my local ski hill told me that as I dangled from the chairlift about 5 feet off the ground because I waffled getting on the lift.

"Live on, survive, for the Earth gives forth wonders. It may swallow your heart, but the wonders keep on coming. You stand before them bareheaded, shriven. What is expected of you is attention."

Salman Rushdie, from The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

A more recent one, meditation-related, short and simple and I have no idea who said it, I just happened to catch it a couple of years ago on a website-that-shall-not-be-named:

"I am not my thoughts."

There's no room on Mars for limp dicks.

It's a quote for a horrible 90s indie film that's always struck with me for some reason. My social group and I have since taken this quote as an absolute/truism that gets referenced whenever a situation calls for absolute certainty. Because as we all know, there's no room on Mars for limp dicks.

A little cheesy, but in middle school we read this essay called “Give!” By Anne Frank

How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment; we can start now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straight away

Her excitement is what always stuck with me

When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: Sit — down — and — talk!

Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor

Sometimes the good you do, doesn’t do you any good.

My grandfather used to tell me: "What I know is that I know nothing". He used to tell me that even in his old age, he was still amazed by the things he discovered, just like a child. That taught me to always be humble and to understand the point of view of others and to always learn in life. So I will always remember this quote.

“When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all”. -God (futurama)

This little quote helps make me thorough in my work

Comparison is the thief of joy.

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."

Usually comes to mind when people are waiting around for others to solve their problems for them.

“You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

The future is no place to place your better days.

Only dead fish go with the current

If you hide your whole life, you'll forget who you are.

This too shall pass.

"Get to the Choppa"

A teacher of mine once said:"I can't understand, why a person needs a ton, to move itself."

20 years later I found r/fuckcars.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler"

I have two that keep finding their way to be relevant. "smooth seas never made a skilled sailor" and "dont break anything you cant fix"

"Never underestimate the power of denial."

― Ricky Fitts (American Beauty)

I now constantly test myself to see if I'm overlooking the truth. Refusal to admit reality or refusal to acknowledge an unpleasant truth can ultimately hold you back.

"Be Better", a college professor/mentor always aid that to me. Whenever I think about taking the easy way or the shortest way I just say "Be Better" and then do the right thing.

Misery isn’t a currency. (this applies to when you make yourself suffer with sadness as a way to buy yourself out of guilt)

This was told to my by my best friend over 30 years ago, he passed away on Thursday.

Theres two -

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" - Dr. Seuss

And a recent one - "Your life starts where your comfort zone ends"

I heard one once that goes like "a fool does what he hates, a wise man does what he loves, but a great man learns to love what is necessary."
I think I am butchering the original phrasing which is probably why I can't find any source for this quote. But I think about it a lot.

Don't hold grudges. While you're holding a grudge, the other guy's out dancing.

You brush at night to keep your teeth.

You brush in the morning to keep your friends.

We suffer more in imagination than reality

God gives his silliest battles to his funniest clowns

"Molten wounds still glow where the two nuclear bombs detonated. And I wonder, in my last moments, if the planet does not mind that we wound her surface or pillage her bounty, because she knows we silly warm things are not even a breath in her cosmic life. We have grown and spread, and will rage and die. And when all that remains of us is our steel monuments and plastic idols, her winds will whisper, her sands will shift, and she will spin on and on, forgetting about the bold, hairless apes who thought they deserved immortality."

-- Pierce Brown, Morning Star Novel (P. 166)

“The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.” - unsure of who first said it

“I am a GOLDEN GOD!” - Almost Famous

"it's just work" --a buddy of mine

helps me every time I'm about to take something personal at work or am annoyed about processes.

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not." -Uncle Iroh (Avatar the Last Airbender).

I watched this show as a kid when it originally aired and this quote stuck with me. It's reminded me to make the best of the situation I'm currently in and enjoy the good things around me.

How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over, in states unborn and accents yet unknown?

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene 1.

But ... I first encountered this line in the shooter game Silpheed on the Apple IIgs, long before I'd read any Shakespeare.