A quote and commentaries about friends and happiness

Find a friend. You won't be happy alone – happiness is a matter of two. (Pythagoras)

In my search for some great quotes about friendship and happiness I have stumbled upon one quote that can be described best from my own experience. Let's be honest – we learn and we get the most from our own mistakes and experience. I remember once getting the possibility to visit Italy for a few days. As I was working in a travel agency, the bus ticket was given free of charge, I just had to pay for a three nights stay in a youth hostel. Hard as I might tried, no one from my close friends or relatives was able to join me in this trip and all I could do was travel alone. The decision time was quite short, so without much consideration, I figured that I got nothing to loose, just gain – It's Italy, Rome and they are giving the ride for free!

After a few days I was already sitting in the bus and visualizing myself in front of the Colosseum or any other famous Roman building. The trip was quite OK, despite the two nights' sleep in the bus, and the disability of stretching my legs and washing in the shower.

Finally I was there – wonderful and old Rome, full of ancient times' silent heralds, which fascinate the tourists from all around the world. I had three days to admire the buildings and places of Rome, and armed with the more or less precise map, optimism and good mood, I marched into the old and inviting streets of the capital of Italy. I was really astounded by the beauty and greatness of architecture and the overall environment. Witnessing the Michelangelo's mind – blowing masterpiece of Sistine Chapel is something you won't forget for a very long time.

Despite all the awesomeness and greatness I had seen, I still felt there was something missing in my heart. Seeing all the wonderful things was truly amazing, but then there was no one beside me to share the joy that I had. I was alone and it really felt different this time. I was half happy – admiring the great things and hollow inside, since no one really shared that experience with me. There is a quote about relationship and friendship from a movie “Into the wild”. It says: “happiness is only real when shared”. It is true, indeed and it best described my emotions in the city of Rome. I was happy – and not so happy at the same time. If you are planning a long trip, I advice to travel with someone else, unless you are a loner and like spending your time alone.

Quotes about speech and thoughts

Though my site is mainly targeted at sayings and quotes about life or that sort of stuff, I would like to start my blog by writing and commenting on a few quotes about thoughts and speech. I just found those pretty interesting and even mind boggling when browsing some quotes blogs.

Your mind is just a mere instrument or a tool and has to be used to reach a particular purpose. When that happens, the instrument is put away. Still, I can say that eighty or ninety percent of all the thoughts are recurrent, useless and dysfunctional for most of the people. Besides, they are often negative and consequently destructive for us. Just analyse your thoughts and you will see that it's true. (Eckhart Tolle)

The quote by Echkart is best seen in our own contemplation. Just think how much time do you spend to solve the equation or any other mental task. It can be anything – from simple multiplication to complex high mathematics project. Your mind will be working intensely in the process focusing on the implementation, execution and completion of the task with little mind pauses, which might still involve mental work. However, after the job is done and we can relax, accidental thoughts, mostly from our past experience start penetrating our mind like torpedoes with more or less positive or negative impact. Most of the time negative thoughts are dominant and exceeding the positive thinking. The truth is: negative experience is much more memorable than positive. That's why we easily remember all the bad stuff that happened to us, but find it hard to name just a few pleasant things that occurred in our lives. That's why it's hard to get rid of “I am such a fool”, “she doesn't love me”, “I won't make it” and similar repetitive thoughts. Nonetheless, there is a simple solution to this “problem” and it's basically doing mental exercises, just like the ones you do in the morning or evening, when you build up your muscles. You have to occupy your mind with something different, it works best when you think about the things that interest you most, with the exception of frustrating thoughts. Optimistic and inspirational quotes about life (like here), music or movie might turn things for the better. Good chat with your friends who root for you, no matter what the circumstances, is also a good option. Anything that keeps your mind off the negative, frustrating and pointless topics is beneficial.

Talk much and tell much is not the same. (Sophocles)

Have you ever noticed how much the politicians speak in electoral speeches, talk shows or any other places where there is broadcasting available? If they could, they would most probably never shut up, at least until they get hungry. That's what they do best – present themselves and get elected. The same goes about every person who earns his living with a power of the word. Quite often people still miss one detail, which is: how much of what is spoken do they really understand? Sometimes one sentence is enough for explanation and getting the necessary attention. It's all in the way the speech is made. Sometimes they are made just to take up your time and attention, without ever answering your questions. Now do you get the point or should I write more? :)