The moment you have the idea of becoming something, there is striving, there is effort, there is conflict.
But if you can simply observe what is without trying to change it, then there is a totally different kind of energy
– not the energy of resistance, but the energy of understanding.
Jiddu Krisnamurti, Freedom from the Known
Gratitude is the memory of the heart. It is also one of the most direct routes to happiness. When we appreciate what we have, instead of focusing on what we lack, we shift our entire perspective. A simple ‘thank you’ whispered to the universe for a moment of peace, a warm cup of tea, or the sound of rain can open the door to joy. Happiness thrives in a grateful heart.
Joseph Emet, Buddha’s Book of Happiness: Teachings for Achieving Lasting Peace, Joy, and Fearlessness
The Buddha said that all conditions =
whether they are internal conditions, bodily conditions or external conditions –
are not self, their nature is to change.
Contemplate this truth until you see it clearly
Ajahn Chah, Our Real Home
Just as a rock is not shaken by a storm,
a wise person is not affected by praise or blame
The Dhammapada, 81
We are obsessed with speed, with cramming more and more into every minute. But as the poet William Stafford says, ‘The more you hurry, the more you feel like a stranger to your own life.’
The human soul does not want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed – to be seen, heard, and companioned exactly as it is.
Parker Palmer, On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old
All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain.
If we do not transform our pain,
we will transmit it to those around us.
Richard Rohr
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