Wisdom Quote by Igor Arien — Inspiring Words on Life, Love & Wisdom

“And above all,” Darian concluded, his gaze unwavering but hopeful, “Elian must come to understand—truly understand, not merely as an idea but as a conviction he lives by—that the life he has been given is not his alone. Every choice he makes either honors those who came before or diminishes their sacrifice. Every act either brightens or dims the path for those who follow. When he stands at life’s crossroads, let him ask not ‘What will this gain me?’ but ‘What light will this leave when I am gone?’ Let him plant seeds whose shade he’ll never sit under. For in the end, we are each but one chapter in humanity’s endless book—and I believe with all my heart that his will be one that future generations turn to for courage.”

“Language raises the walls of identity, but only the vocabulary of compromise can keep civilization standing.”

“Wisdom begins not in knowing answers, but in knowing what must be asked.”

“Time is not the great teacher. Experience is. A man may live a whole life, but if he never leaves his home to experience that life, he dies knowing nothing. A mere child who has suffered and lived can be the wiser of the two.”

“There are some animal advocates who say that to maintain that veganism is the moral baseline is objectionable because it is “judgmental,” or constitutes a judgment that veganism is morally preferable to vegetarianism and a condemnation that vegetarians (or other consumers of animal products) are “bad” people. Yes to the first part; no to the second. There is no coherent distinction between flesh and other animal products. They are all the same and we cannot justify consuming any of them. To say that you do not eat flesh but that you eat dairy or eggs or whatever, or that you don’t wear fur but you wear leather or wool, is like saying that you eat the meat from spotted cows but not from brown cows; it makers no sense whatsoever. The supposed “line” between meat and everything else is just a fantasy–an arbitrary distinction that is made to enable some exploitation to be segmented off and regarded as “better” or as morally acceptable. This is not a condemnation of vegetarians who are not vegans; it is, however, a plea to those people to recognize their actions do not conform with a moral principle that they claim to accept and that all animal products are the result of imposing suffering and death on sentient beings. It is not a matter of judging individuals; it is, however, a matter of judging practices and institutions. And that is a necessary component of ethical living.”

“Must I accept the barren Gift?”

“Don’t let others write the story of your life. You’ll regret it when the paper runs out.”