Last Friday saw Christina ‘share the knowledge’ with the team as she talked us through her appreciation of words and how they affected her life growing up.
The rest of the team were asked to bring a quote to the session that meant something to them, here are just a few.
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“A friend took me to the most amazing place the other day. It’s called the Augusteum.
Octavian Augustus built it to house his remains. When the barbarians came they trashed it along with everything else.
The great Augustus, Rome’s first true great emperor, how could he have imagined that Rome, the whole world as far as he was concerned, would be in ruins.
It’s one of the quietest, loneliest places in Rome. The city has grown up around it over the centuries. It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won’t let go of because it hurts too good.
We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we’re afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Then I looked around this place, at the chaos it has endured – the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again, and I was reassured.
Maybe my life hasn’t been so chaotic, it’s just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.”
– Elizabeth Gilbert
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“Growing up happens in a heartbeat.
One day you’re in nappies, the next day you’re gone.
But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul.
I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets.
And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back…with wonder.”
– From The Wonder Years
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“When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I wrote down “happy”.
They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
– John Lennon
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“Once you accept that you can do anything you really want, life is simple.
You just need to decide whats worth doing.”
– Anon
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“You’ve gotta die of somert!”
– Sarah Carter, 10 Associates
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“You forget what people have said to you…
You forget what people have done to you…
But you never forget how they made you feel.”
– Anon
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“A meteorology professor stood before his Meteorology 101 class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty glass mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a jar of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous yes.
The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and then proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things — your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions — things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
“The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18.
“There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.”
– Anon
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“Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his same sad old song
Every rose has its thorn”
– Lyrics by Poison
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