Jennifer Sardam

“Thoreau wrote, "the mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." This is as true today as it was back then. How many men stand on a balcony and wonder what happened?... He wanted adventure and he got two weeks' vacation. He wanted a mission and he got a lawn that needs mowing. He wanted purpose and he got a cubicle. He wanted a mighty steed and he got a minivan. He wanted a castle and he got a mortgage. He wanted a battle to fight and he got televised sports. He wanted wisdom and he got talking heads on TV. He wanted treasure and he got endless debt. He wanted every part of his life to be wonderful, and here he is... standing on a balcony, in bleak, ruminating hesitation.”
― Zan Perrion, The Alabaster Girl

“we are the richest people on earth, praying to get richer. We’re tangled in unmanageable debt while feeding the machine, because we feel entitled to more. What does it communicate when half the global population lives on less than $2 a day, and we can’t manage a fulfilling life on twenty-five thousand times that amount? Fifty thousand times that amount?”
― Jen Hatmaker, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

“Persistence leaves room for success, even in the face of overbooked schedules and home-baked cookies, allowing us to take pride in what we achieved despite the challenges instead of crying over where we’ve fallen short. We’re inclined to trust Voltaire in thinking perfect is the enemy of good—especially since the desire”
― Carla Birnberg, What You Can When You Can: Healthy Living on Your Terms

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the “universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us…. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. —Albert Einstein”
― Melinda Blau, Consequential Strangers: Turning Everyday Encounters Into Life-Changing Moments