8.17.26

The clear still water of a mountain lake reflects the mountain and the sky with pristine clarity. You can do the same. If you are calm and still enough, you can reflect the mountain, the blue sky, and the moon exactly as they are. You reflect whatever you see just as it is without distorting anything. 

― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

8.10.26

When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 

8.3.26

Do you want to be really happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got. Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontented. As Lao- tse wrote, "A tree as big around as you can reach starts with a small seed; a thousand-mile journey starts with one step." Wisdom Happiness and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they're part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They're not only the ending, but the beginning as well. The more it snows, the more it goes, the more it goes on snowing.

–Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

7.27.26

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

― Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning 

7.20.26

The Wu Wei approach to conflict-solving can be seen in the practice of the Taoist martial art T'ai Chi Ch'üan, the basic idea of which is to wear the opponent out either by sending his energy back at him or by deflecting it away, in order to weaken his power, balance, and position-for-defense. Never is force opposed with force; instead, it is overcome with yielding.

–Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

7.13.26

Just imagine the day that you stop making assumptions with your partner and eventually with everyone else in your life. Your way of communicating will change completely, and your relationships will no longer suffer from conflicts created by mistaken assumptions.

The way to keep yourself from making assumptions is to ask questions. Make sure the communication is clear. If you don’t understand, ask. Have the courage to ask questions until you are clear as you can be, and even then do not assume you know all there is to know about a given situation. Once you hear the answer, you will not have to make assumptions because you will know the truth.  

― Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements 

7.6.26

Truth is the perfect circle. Its center is everywhere; its circumference stretches into infinite space. The land on which we stand is sacred, no matter where we stand.

The Tao Te Ching says:

Without going out of my door 

I can know all things on earth.

Without looking out of my window 

I can know the ways of heaven.

― Lama Surya Das, Awakening to the Sacred

6.29.26

Ten times a day something happens to me like this - some strengthening throb of amazement - some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.

― Mary Oliver, 12 Things I Know