I was just passing by...

I finally organized my desk at work - after moving to a new office a couple of weeks ago - and found a few of these gems: things I've written down on Post-it's and stuck up in my office space.

"I can't understand it. I can't even understand people who can understand it."

This one can apply to a zillion different situations - from the crazy work ideas someone not only conceives of but also occasionally implements to the many, many baffling news items every day. This one covers, for me, ideas like war and Arctic drilling and the general belief in the free market and the stock exchange. This is what I think of when I see the madness all around me, and it calms me down because it's a quote from someone else and it makes me realize I am NOT alone.

"Power OF the people vs. power OVER the people."
This is a good distinction to keep in mind daily, especially when you are in leadership.

"Death is an appropriate deadline."
We worry about getting everything done, getting too old for certain things, not ever making our dreams come true. But really, ANYthing can really happen right up until The End.

And my favorite, from the X-Files' Fox Mulder, and which needs no additional explanation:

But what about...the element of surprise, random acts of unpredictability? If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced.