The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
—Charles Bukowski (via burnthazel)
(Source: quote-book, via californiagirl)
The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance 
Susan Cain talks to Scientific American about her book Quiet : The Power of Introverts. There is great value in those who prefer introversion, and it is quite different from shyness. Yet our society does not reward this work ethic and social style, even though as many as two-thirds of people are introverts. A wonderful interview.
Many introverts feel there’s something wrong with them, and try to pass as extroverts. But whenever you try to pass as something you’re not, you lose a part of yourself along the way. You especially lose a sense of how to spend your time. Introverts are constantly going to parties and such when they’d really prefer to be home reading, studying, inventing, meditating, designing, thinking, cooking…or any number of other quiet and worthwhile activities.
According to the latest research, one third to one half of us are introverts – that’s one out of every two or three people you know. But you’d never guess that, right? That’s because introverts learn from an early age to act like pretend-extroverts.
HAVE YOU GUYS EVER FELT THIS STUFF? IT’S LIKE … SOOOOOOOOOOO SOFT. A MILLION LITTLE TICKLES ALL OVER YOUR FACE PLACE AND BELLY BITS. IT’S LIKE THE GROUND HAS FUR. WE HAVE TO STOP WALKING ON THIS AND START RUBBING IT ALL THE TIME. START PETTING IT. MAKING IT HAPPY.
KATE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
I DON’T KNOW. I HAD THREE MARGARITAS AT LUNCH. I DON’T EVEN REALLY KNOW WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. I LOVE YOU, THOUGH.
(Source: devoureth)
(via eatandlove)
When my husband died, because he was so famous & known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me — it still sometimes happens — & ask me if Carl changed at the end & converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again.
Carl faced his death with unflagging courage & never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don’t ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief & precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive & we were together was miraculous — not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance… That pure chance could be so generous & so kind… That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space & the immensity of time… That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me & it’s much more meaningful…
The way he treated me & the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other & our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.
—Ann Druyan, talking about her husband, Carl Sagan (via conflictingheart)
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