The mind is constantly trying to figure out what page it’s on in the story of itself.
Close the book. Burn the bookmark.
End of story.
Now the dancing begins.
Ikko Narasaki, roshi, died 1996
There are no new stressful thoughts.
They’re all recycled.
Byron Katie
It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.
Dr. Haim G. Ginott, 1922 – 1973, School teacher, Child psychologist and psychotherapist, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers.
Sometimes falsely attributed to Goethe. Thanks to Kim for pointing this out.
Our news these days has a continual fearful, – or as we see this week – an angry or resentful tone. We have to work to ensure that it does not become the dominant energy of this day or this new month.
The water of the mind, how clear it is!
Gazing at it, the boundaries are invisible.
But as soon as even a slight thought arises,
ten thousand images crowd it.
Attach to them, and they become real.
Be carried by them, and it will be difficult to return.
How painful to see a person trapped in the ten-fold delusions.
Ryokan, Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk, 1758 – 1831