Much of what holds us back is not reality itself, but the stories we tell ourselves about what might go wrong.
Our doubts are traitors,
and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt.
William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.
I have become my own version of an optimist.
If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door – or I’ll make a door.
Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.
Rabindranath Tagore
Courage is not the absence of fear.
It is the presence of clarity.
Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao: Daily Meditations,
It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day.
It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear.
Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God’s.
He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.
George MacDonald, 1824 – 1905 Scottish author, poet and Christian minister.
I have a simple mantra for remembering the laws of nature: life is not personal, permanent, or perfect.
I [have] discovered that awareness can ride the energies of persistent and disturbing thoughts and emotions without interference or personalization.
Reminding myself that life is not personal, permanent, or perfect has kept me from falling into sinkholes of despair and destroying rooms with rage. It invites me to pause and turn inward.
Ruth King, Wholeness Is No Trifling Matter
Strength is our willingness to stay present in the face of uncertainty
Elizabeth Mattis‑Namgyel, The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha’s Path to Freedom
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