Being Erica and Dr. Tom and life quotes

So.  There is this random TV show from Canada that is chock full of quotes. Its called Being Erica.  It’s a quirky show where therapy takes place thru time travel. It kind of gives life lessons (which I like … when it is well done) but in general the only redeemingly fun part of the show is the therapist a guy called Dr. Tom.  He is constantly cranking out these cheesy but awesome quotes to make a point. And (because it is a TV show) this Erica chick always has something in her life for him to comment on.

But she is facing change in her life as a mid-late 20something:

Erica: “Change. Sometimes it sneaks up on you. Sometimes it hits you over the head. And sometimes you turn a corner, only to find you’re different in some small way, and the world doesn’t look quite like it used to. So, where do I go from here? No idea.”

Anyway.

The quotes.

Here are some samples:

“Pressure makes diamonds.” – General George S. Patton
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
“Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand.” – Baruch Spinoza
“The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” – Plato (paraphrased)
“We learn to do something by doing it. There is no other way.” – John Halt
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen

–          I had never heard this one before and it is AWESOME. I wish I had seen this one when I wrote my broken people post.  This is a great thought and perspective for when life breaks you down every once in awhile. What an awesome thought to look at how being broken, or cracked by life, may be painful but it also allows light into places that maybe had never seen light before.  Now that, my friends, is a powerful thought.

“The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

–          I have but one thing to add to this quote … “Amen sister.”

“It takes a lot of courage to grow up and be who you really are.” – EE Cummings (paraphrased)
“Those that fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” – Winston Churchill (paraphrased)
“If life’s journey be endless, where is its goal? The answer is, it is everywhere.” – Rabindranath Tagore

–          I had never heard this one either and I love it. I love it mostly because I have never really liked the whole ‘life is not a destination but a journey’ quote and this one is, just … well … more expansive and more thoughtful and more open minded. Probably it will never be a favorite quote for people who like specific goals and milestones but for a joker like me who likes the randomness of life and finds pleasure not in linear success but the spontaneous successful moments that appears in life … it is a perfect quote.

“Learn to be what you are, and learn to resign with good grace all that you are not.” – Henry Frederick Emile

– I hadn’t seen this one before either … and I like it.  one of the hardest things in the world for anyone is to embrace their flaws.  Ok.  maybe not the flaws … just the things they are not (which aren’t necessarily flaws). Each of us ‘are not’ a lot of things. Recognizing those things is actually pretty easy. We notice them all the time. I guess the difficult part is accepting them. and resigning yourself to ‘not being something’ with grace.  Yeah.  being able to do that is a full measure of one’s character.

“Darkness is only driven out by lightness, not by more darkness.” – Martin Luther King

– MLK thought big.  And I am no MLK.  So let me think small. Personal. Over the past 2 or 3 years maybe 5 people I know have fought depression. And depression is like darkness. Maybe sometimes it is only like a gray darkness but when it is at full strength it is a black darkness.  A lightless darkness. And if not careful it is so dark that any lightness struggles to have an impact.  But while I am a ‘personal responsibility’ type of guy (kinda believe that most people, if they suck it up, can impact whatever they may be facing) I do believe that friends can make a difference with this darkness called depression. We can bring a light into that darkness when maybe that person just has forgotten what light looks like. No. I don’t believe a friend can drive out the darkness with light. Only the person in the darkness can do that. But sometimes they just need some help. Sometimes they need someone to bring them a light to get them started back out of the darkness.  And we do it because that is what friends do.

So.

The show is okay. It is about life and regrets and learning from decisions and shit like that (stuff that I typically like) but Dr. Tom dispenses some good advice throughout. Because of that if I am ever in front of my TV and it is on I will flip over to it.

Regardless.  Good quotes. And that I love.