My parents owned a hair salon, so I learned a few tricks there. I can cut people's hair - if they let me.
Laughter is good for you. Nine out of ten stand-up comedians recommend laughter in the face of intense stupidity.
There's always, always a choice. My options might really, truly suck, but that doesn't mean there isn't a choice.
Whenever you've got a choice, do good, kiddo. It isn't always fun or easy, but in the long run it makes your life better.
The human mind isn't a terribly logical or consistent place. Most people, given the choice to face a hideous or terrifying truth or to conveniently avoid it, choose the convenience and peace of normality. That doesn't make them strong or weak people, or good or bad people. It just makes them people.
Growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you're just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something.
There's more magic in a baby's first giggle than in any firestorm a wizard can conjure up, and don't let anyone tell you any different.
Accelerando means in tempo. Don't rush.
The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.
When people think the issue can be solved, it becomes a moral imperative to be part of the solution. We can do a lot more within our school districts to recruit aggressively, select people according to high standards, invest in their training and development, and foster and reward their leadership. Once we invest more in attracting, developing and retaining teachers, potential recruits will begin to see it as a profession worth considering.
All of the external circumstances and the rude and difficult people we meet, instead of getting angry, upset, or frustrated, we see that we can take them all and use them on the path in a way that actually invigorates and strengthens us, rather than defeats us. It's all very practical advice, and that's why I talk a lot about how to make our daily life into Dharma practice, otherwise it's easy to feel hopeless and helpless.