I don’t believe that prayers actually change God’s mind – if there is a God – but I liked praying for people in need. It was like moral weightlifting. I tend to be self-obsessed, and it was nice to get out of my brain once in a while.
A. J. JACOBSI don’t believe that prayers actually change God’s mind – if there is a God – but I liked praying for people in need. It was like moral weightlifting. I tend to be self-obsessed, and it was nice to get out of my brain once in a while.
A. J. JACOBSJealousy is a useless, time-wasting emotion that’s eating me alive.
A. J. JACOBSI know that you should always say yes to adventures or you’ll lead a very dull life.
A. J. JACOBSOne of the interesting things to me is that God grows throughout the Old Testament. He evolves, sort of matures, and becomes kinder.
A. J. JACOBSI grew up in a very secular home with no religion at all, so I was starting from zero.
A. J. JACOBSA 2002 Oxford study showed counting sheep actually delays the onset of sleep. It’s just too dull to stop us from worrying about jobs and spouses.
A. J. JACOBSI thought religion would eventually wither away and we’d all be worshiping at the altar of science.
A. J. JACOBSThere’s a beauty to forgiveness, especially forgiveness that goes beyond rationality. Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great & powerful one
A. J. JACOBSAfter a while, if you’re committed, you start to believe in the things in which you’re praying. It’s just cognitive dissonance. You can’t live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.
A. J. JACOBSThe best we can do, to paraphrase Pollan, is to eat whole foods, mostly plants, and not too much.
A. J. JACOBSIt’s a different way of looking at the world. Your life isn’t about rights. It’s about responsibilities.”–Mr Bill Berkowitz
A. J. JACOBSMy reading list grows exponentially. Every time I read a book, it’ll mention three other books I feel I have to read. It’s like a particularly relentless series of pop-up ads.
A. J. JACOBSI was very good at sitting. But I just read so much research about how horrible sitting is for you. It’s like, it’s really bad. It’s like Paula-Deen-glazed-bacon-doughnut bad. So I now move around as much as possible.
A. J. JACOBSScrabble – The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t really explain why.
A. J. JACOBSI have little shame, no dignity – all in the name of a better cause.
A. J. JACOBSThe Bible talks a lot about thankfulness, and I’m more thankful than I ever was. I try to concentrate on the hundreds of things that go right in a day, instead of the three or four that go wrong.
A. J. JACOBS