A wise person employs the mind like a mirror.
They do not grasp after, they do not welcome;
they respond, but do not retain.
Therefore they can triumph over things without harm to theselves
Chuang-tzu, 4th century BC, Zhuangzi, Chapter 7
The effort to feel happy is often precisely the thing that makes us miserable.
And that it is our constant efforts to eliminate the negative – insecurity, uncertainty, failure, or sadness – that is what causes us to feel so insecure, anxious, uncertain, or unhappy.
Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote: Happiness for People who cant stand Positive Thinking
There are two kinds of thoughts that dominate almost all humans: thoughts revolving around our own history and thoughts revolving around our own future. These thoughts are mesmerising, and they all have the same fingerprints: my life.
It’s as though you’re walking through life lugging these two big, heavy, important bags with you – one containing all your thoughts about your history, the other all your thoughts about your future. They’re wonderful, valuable bags. But try putting them down, just for a bit. See if you can greet some part of life more immediately, here and now. And if you’re successful, you can pick the bags back up later. If you want to.
Björn Natthiko Lindeblad, I May be wrong: and Other Wisdoms from Life as a Forest Monk
One path seems to end. He sits. And he sees life continuing in another form. The same energy that flowed and ended as water, now flows and rises as clouds.
Sometimes wisdom arises after we have reached a limit or let something go
In middle years I came to love the Dao (Way)
When the mood comes, I go for a walk alone.
I walk up to where the water runs out [is exhausted]
And sit to watch the moment the clouds effortlessly arise [being born]
Wang Wei, 701–761 CE, Tang Dynasty poet, painter, and devout Buddhist, Final Retreat at Zhongnan
If we can face our fear instead of running from it, we find that
it contains the energy of the transformation we are seeking.
The terror becomes the teacher.
Marion Woodman, Dancing in the Flames
The moon in her poetry is rarely just the moon. She sees only enough to keep moving. Often, wisdom lies not in seeing the destination but in taking the next step. Darkness can be part of the journey,
From darkness
into a darker path
I must make my way;
Faintly shine from afar,
moon on the mountain’s edge.
Izumi Shikibu, 976–1030 CE,
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