Usually I write about politics and current affairs, but this Sunday – just three days before Christmas – I would like to give them a miss and dedicate my column to something different

I am an avid reader, and when something in the book I’m reading hits me hard, I tend to jot it down. There was a time when I used to keep a notebook by my side; today my mobile phone serves this purpose too.

The 13 quotes listed below were picked from some of the books I read during the year that is about to end.

I think they are meaningful considerations, and I hope you also find them intriguing.

The disruption Christmas brings is a conspiracy to turn contented loners into suicidal depressives

This is for those who think that everybody likes Christmas, or the festivities that surround this time of the year. No, it is not so. There are people who hate Christmas, for different reasons. So, please, let them be. Do not force them to attend social or family activities if they do not feel like doing so. And, if they make the sacrifice and do attend, do not badger them to be the life and soul of the party. Let them be present in their own way. Some people enjoy solitude even when they are in a crowd.

Faintest ink is better than the best memory

I liked this because, in spite of still having (thank God) a very good memory, there are still occasions when I trusted it too much and ended up forgetting something. So I find it convenient to write a small note, perhaps even one word, which will then trigger the full memory. My handwriting has gone from bad to worse as the years progressed, but sometimes that scribble is enough to jolt my thoughts and serve as a reminder.

A man’s state of mind hinges on the ability to compromise between what is worth remembering and what is best forgotten

Another quote about memory, this time with a much deeper meaning. It’s for those who only remember what suits them or, as my wife would say, those who have a selective memory (she often says this with her finger pointed at me). The thing is that many times what is worth remembering and what is best forgotten is one and the same thing. So what do you do?

Never tell more than half of what you know

I have probably read this, or something similar, several times. But I came across this particular sentence this past week, and I could not help but link it to all that is taking place at the Public Accounts Committee in the ongoing oil procurement saga. But I promised I would not speak about current affairs today so I will stop here.

(Death is not merely extinction, but erasure

It’s true. When you think about it, death makes the person who died extinct and erases him or her from the face of the earth. Those left behind will mourn, but the person who died couldn’t care less. It raises the question – what are we here for?

I woke up more exhausted by the succession of turbulent dreams than revived by sleep

This is lovely. It describes the exhaustion after a night of supposedly good rest that turns out to be an exercise in tossing and turning. It has been quite a while since I decided that, when this happens, it is pointless trying to sleep. So I get out of bed and switch on the computer or TV.

There are too many variables in life to predict any outcome with precision

It is impossible to say what will happen. You think people will react in one way but they will react in another. Many times, the best of intentions are not enough.

Just as every mood is temporary, so is every triumph and disappointment.

For the optimists, it means that they will quickly get up from a fall (disappointment). For the pessimists, it means that all that is positive (triumph) is fleeting. 

It does not necessarily follow that the promise of a new land turns out to be the promised land

Many times, a target reached after hard work and sacrifices turns out to be a huge disillusionment.

Crossing the invisible boundary between legitimate concern and unwelcome interference

This is for nosy people who do not know when to stop asking questions. No matter how dismissive the answer is, and the annoyance shown in giving it, they keep on pressing for more details. I have learnt to be rude to them simply because they are the perfect example of what being rude is.

It is human nature, when fears are stirred, that reason loses all power

When emotions take over, it is difficult to win an argument, even when one is right. Many times people in the right lose the battle because their attitude is wrong. It is better to calm down, count to 10 and take a deep breath. Easier said than done though when others are too ignorant, arrogant or think they belong to a superior category. But that’s what New Year resolutions are for.

Smart, conscientious people hate making mistakes. Not just because of ego. Because mistakes of a certain type have the kinds of consequences that people with consciences don’t like to live with

Nothing much to add. It says it all.

Nostalgia for the future

It’s not as paradoxical as it may seem. It is the desire that what is to come will be like the good things we had in the past. The way humanity is moving, however, it’s an impossible dream. I have lost hope because evil always wins.

May you enjoy the holidays, if you have any. And, please, do remember the first quote.

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