Do you have a favorite memorable/inspirational quote you'd like to share?

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IIPheXII wrote:

"It's lonely at the top but the journey is the reward".

I'm going to use this as a teaching moment for my sons; it's a great example of a disgusting bromide disguised as wisdom.

Experience as a reward is literally childish. A focus on the internal world of consciousness over the material world that exists outside it — a focus on trying, rather than doing — these are valid purauits in the context of preparing to be an adult, but like any preparations are meaningless without successful execution. The journey is not its own reward, it is a means to an end.

The closest thing to an actual afterlife that exists is the material world outside our consciousnesses that we interact with daily. Contrary to popular wisdom, money IS something that follows you into the "afterlife" after your death — what doesn't is all your personal thoughts and feelings, unless they've been passed on to another consciousness that will outlive you. A happiness unshared is a happiness that perishes with you. It is not lonely at the top — the true top is a place of family and friendship, where you can give all your best without the worry you're casting pearls before swine. I'm not sure how well the Darwin quote applies to young men, but as far as funerals go it's spot on.

This type of focus on a happiness that needs no one else and lives entirely one's mortal memories is a cancer upon civilization. It's a recipe for people who squander the gift of life and leave behind nothing of value for those who come after.