Gratitude
“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
–G.K. Chesterton (a.k.a. Gilbert Keith Chesterton, English Writer and Poet, 1874-1936)
Living Big!
“Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can!”
–Danny Kaye (a.k.a. David Daniel Kaminsky, American Comedian, Actor, Singer, Dancer and UNICEF Ambassador at Large, 1913-1987)
Never Really Living
I have often been saddened by people who come to me saying that they have spent years getting ready to do something. It might be to begin a healthy lifestyle, or learning to meditate, but instead of getting on and doing something, they are still busy getting themselves seated.
Often what they need is a gentle – or sometimes not so gentle! – push, and a reminder that even eagles sometimes need to be shoved out of the nest!
It reminds me of this:
“We are always getting ready to live but never living.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet and Essayist, 1803-1882)
Discerning Cycles
“There is timing in the whole life of the warrior, in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and discord. Similarly, there is timing in the Way of the merchant, in the rise and fall of capital. All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this.”
–Miyamoto Musashi (a.k.a. Shinmen Takezō, a.k.a. Miyamoto Bennosuke, a.k.a Niten Dōraku, Japanese Samurai, Swordsman and Founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of Swordsmanship and Author of The Book of Five Rings (五輪書 Go Rin No Sho), on Strategy, Tactics, and Philosophy, c.1584-1645)
True Friendship
“A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and the one which we take the least thought to acquire.”
–François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (French Writer and Moralist, 1613-1680)
All Living Beings Belong Together
An extraordinary insight by one the parents of quantum mechanics:
“All of us living beings belong together, in as much as we are all in reality sides or aspects of one single being, which may perhaps in western terminology be called God while in the Upanishads its name is Brahman.”
–Erwin Schrodinger (Austrian Physicist and, in 1933, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, 1887-1961)
Wise People Appreciate Everyone
“Wise men appreciate all men, for they see the good in each and know how hard it is to make anything good.”
–Baltasar Gracián (Spanish Jesuit Philosopher and Writer, 1601-1658)
“The Art of Worldly Wisdom (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)” (Baltasar Gracian)
Life Is An Experiment
“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet and Essayist, 1803-1882)
Compassion and Energy
“Compassion automatically invites you to relate with people because you no longer regard people as a drain on your energy.”
–Chögyam Trungpa (Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Teacher, Scholar, Artist and Founder of Naropa University, 1940-1987)
Truth For Its Own Sake
“A person receives enlightenment when governed by the love of truth for its own sake and not for any selfish or worldly reason.”
–Emanuel Swedenborg (Swedish Scientist, Mystic and Philosopher, 1688-1772)
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