Distinguish

Of all things that exist, some are in our power, and others are not in our power.

In our power are thought, impulse, desire, aversion, and, in a word, those things which is our own doing.

Things not in our power include the body, property and possessions reputation, positions of authority, and, in a word, everything which is not our own doing.

Epictetus, The Enchiridion 

running after something

If you are able to put a stop to the mentality

in which every thought is running after something,

then you would be no different from a Zen Master or a Buddha.

Lin-chi, died 866, Chinese Chan Buddhist monk and teacher 

A prayer for a new year

May we all grow in grace and peace,
and not neglect the silence that is printed
in the centre of our being.
It will not fail us.


Thomas Merton

Wipe the map clean

Most people move through the world following signs made by others (who had no idea what they were doing).

To find your destiny, wipe the map clean.

Then chart your own course by your heart’s magnetic pull toward true north.

Martha Beck 

the best resolution

We need solitude because we are addicted to being seen, to being heard, to being known, to achieving something in the presence of others

Solitude exposes our false self – the self that is defined by productivity and the need for approval

Ruth Haley Barton, Invitation to Solitude and Silence

Go well

The traveller sees what he sees.

The tourist sees what he has come to see.

G.K. Chesterton