Tag: Quote Inspired

You Realize You Don’t See With Your Eyes, Right?

Published on January 5, 2026

“Most people walk the earth unaware that they are not seeing with their eyes. Instead, they are seeing with their emotions, and often these emotions are just the echoes of their past hurts.”

Yung Pueblo

You and I can live the same day—objectively. But subjectively? We’ll always interpret and internalize things differently—regardless of how identical our days are. Why? Because as is mentioned above: we don’t live from our eyes… we live from our emotions.

You and I might both see a roof over our head, the sun peaking in its head from our bedroom window, and a loved one sleeping besides us as we open our eyes in the morning. Yet to one, roof might equate to shelter, safety, and warmth… and to another it might equate to mortgage due, repairs needed, and work. With the sun, one might see a beautiful day ahead… while the other might see missed morning routine and late. With loved ones by our side, one might see blessed companionship whereas the other might see constant fighting and drama.

This is why, from a visual outside-looking-in perspective, a person can seem to have “it all” and yet, live miserably… while another can seem to have barely anything at all and live joyfully.

The path to getting ahead in life has little to do with what the eyes can see.

The path to getting ahead in life has everything to do with what our emotions can see. And how do we get our emotions to see things differently? With more gratitude? More joyfully? The same way you would try to teach your son or daughter… with time, energy, and effort—except focused within.

“Let Us Play Is As Good As Let Us Pray”

Published on December 8, 2025

“Let us ask the gods not for possessions, but for things to do; happiness is in making things rather than in consuming them. In Utopia, said Thoreau, each would build his own home; and then song would come back to the heart of man, as it comes to the bird when it builds its nest. If we cannot build our homes, we can at least walk and throw and run; and we should never be so old as merely to watch games instead of playing them. Let us play is as good as Let us pray, and the results are more assured.”
Will Durant, Fallen Leaves

“…Happiness is in making things rather than in consuming them.”

Test this theory for yourself.

Upon reflection, do you find more joy in the content you created or in the content you consumed? Do you think you were happier when you were learning skills or when you were watching other people flex their skills? Are you more proud of the things you’ve built or the things you’ve purchased from others that they’ve built?

When I think about this blog, MoveMe Quotes, my martial arts career… It’s clear to me where I stand.

“Me-First Sundays”

Published on October 7, 2025

An excerpt from something I read today:

“I realized that I have been living for the emotional scraps of approval—not from strangers, but from my husband. He loves slow, lazy Sundays; I love Sundays that feed me—meditation, a run, reading, a workshop. To keep the peace, I’ve been bending toward his rhythm: cramming ‘me’ into Saturday and then drifting through Sunday beside him. The cost has been a low-grade guilt and the quiet ache of self-abandonment; I end too many weekends disappointed in myself. So I’m recalibrating. I’m not asking him to change; I’m choosing to keep one promise to myself before I keep any to anyone else. ‘Me-First Sundays’ start now: 7–11 AM are mine—long meditation, a run, a chapter, and one learning block—then shared downtime together. I want my weekends to end with pride, not apology. I choose aliveness over approval.”

One more time for the people who skimmed: “I’m not asking him to change; I’m choosing to keep one promise to myself before I keep any to anyone else.”

Because keeping promises to others at the expense of keeping promises to yourself leads to “cramming”, “low-grade guilt”, feelings of “self-abandonment”, “disappointment”—and those are just the writer’s words…

…Think about what it leads to for you.

To Enjoy While Not-Doing

Published on July 15, 2025

“Sitting by the fire at Allegany, listening to the creek, watching the critters, and losing oneself in the fire burning down is the absolute gold of getting away to anywhere. My love of Finger Lakes the same. Yes, it’s great to get out to the wineries, or hike a trail, but it’s better to get back and watch the water…”
My father

This was a reply my dad sent to my post, “Add Sitting To Your Travel Itinerary—Yes, Sitting…“

…Which was about how you can learn just as much from a place by mindfully sitting as you can from actively sightseeing.

But, I think you can also enjoy as much from a place by sitting—by a fire or body of water—as you can from doing (e.g. hiking a long nature trail or Jet-skiing).

In fact, what’s interesting about your ability to enjoy while remaining still… is that it’s reflective of your ability to enjoy—pure and simple.

The thing about doing, doing, doing is that it’s a form of active entertainment… there’s constantly refreshing scenery, there’s dopamine hits, there’s things to do with your body and places for your mind to curiously explore… it’s easy to enjoy while doing.

But, it takes a much more mature mind to enjoy while not-doing. To enjoy while sitting still. To enjoy when things are calm, when there’s no quick dopamine hits, when there’s nothing to actively do or think about…

This is the kind of deep enjoyment that comes from deep inner work… and it eventually gets to the point where it surpasses even the most incredible of active entertainments/adventures…

What’s Your Storm Mentality?

Published on February 12, 2025

I uploaded a quote today that said, “When fisherman cannot go to sea, they repair their nets. When the sea is too rough to sail, the smart ones don’t wait—they get to work. They mend their nets, sharpen their tools, and prepare for the moment the storm breaks. Because even in stillness, there’s progress…“

When you cannot go to the gym… what do you do?

…What about when you cannot prepare the healthy dinner you had planned?

…Or when you cannot devote as much time to your project that you originally intended/needed to?

…What do you do when the storm hits? Do you have a plan? Or do you just throw your hands up in the air and use it as an excuse to cozy up to your comfort zone self? …To revert back to a lower version of yourself? …To turn stillness into regress?

One thing is for sure… the storms will come.

The question for you to reflect on today is… what will be your mentality (and action steps) when it does?

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Gustave Flaubert Quote On Being “Regular and Orderly” To Produce Your Best Work…

Published on January 8, 2025

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
Gustave Flaubert

Whenever I travel or experience any “violent” changes in routine… my creative work suffers.

…Simply because the time blocked for creative work shrinks in proportion to the amount of time exploring, problem solving, or engaging in unique experiences—expands.

And the days when creative work is the hardest is when I’m doing it at the end of my day, right before bed, when I’m exhausted, and as a last minute obligation because it’s a commitment I want to honor.

…But you know what?

I have yet to regret a post I’ve published.

Even one of the posts I’ve written at 3am after a long night out.

…And you know what’s more?

I have yet to regret an adventure I’ve taken.

If anything, it’s the adventures that have lead to some of my best creative work.

…But you know what most people miss?

It’s the time blocked after the adventures, where I’m able to unpack it all and do some creative work, where the vibrance and meaning of the adventures come to full fruition.

See, it isn’t the “regular and orderly life” that exclusively leads to the “violent and original work” just like it isn’t an adventurous and spontaneous life that would only lead to “regular” work.

It’s the harmony of both elements that we need in our lives: the adventure and the ordinary; the violent and the regular; the spontaneous and the routine.

This is where (and how) our best work lives.

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Craving, Attachment, and Desire

Published on December 16, 2024

Edgar Allen Poe once said, “All suffering originates from craving, from attachment, from desire.”

I want you to take a minute to reflect on the suffering you’re experiencing in your life right now.

…Can you trace the root of the suffering back to one of these causes?

If so, I want you to next identify whether the suffering is a superficial creation done by social media, mass marketing, and/or living in a materialistic culture… or if it’s created from something deeper.

Some suffering is meant to be felt. Heartbreak; loss; wrongdoing… this is the kind of suffering that makes you truly appreciate… that wakes you up to your purpose… that turns your attention inward and forces inner growth.

…And some suffering is completely unnecessary and doesn’t need to be felt at all.