Listening

You should not have your own idea when you listen to someone…. To have nothing in your mind is naturalness. Then you will understand what he says. Shunryu Suzuki

Freeing

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Albert Einstein

Service

The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity. Leo Tolstoy

Friendship

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” C.S. Lewis

Education

Education should not be the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats

Sayings and Words

Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never thrown away. Sir Arthur Helps

Blessing

Bless a thing and it will bless you. Curse it and it will curse you....If you bless a situation, it has no power to hurt you, and even if it is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out, if you sincerely bless it. Emmet Fox

Preaching

You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips. Oliver Goldsmith

Compassion

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. Thomas Merton

Self Respect

The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.  Joan Didion 

Living

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. Agatha Christie 

Waiting

To wait for moments or places where no pain exists, no separation is felt and where all human restlessness has turned into inner peace is waiting for a dream world. Henri J. M. Nouwen

Tiny Pushes

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. Helen Keller

Humble Living

Humble living does not diminish. It fills. Going back to a simpler self gives wisdom. Rumi

Joy

Joy comes not through possession or ownership but through a wise and loving heart. Jack Kornfield

Walls

The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy. Jim Rohn

Giving

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. Unknown 

The Way

The strength of man consists in finding out the way in which God is going, and going that way too. Henry Ward Beecher 

Enlightenment

Enlightenment is not an attainment; it is a realization. When you wake up, everything changes and nothing changes. If a blind man realizes that he can see, has the world changed? Dan Millman

Gain

Stop worrying about what you have to lose and start focusing on what you have to gain. Unknown

Wise

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James

Peace

Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue; a state of mind; a disposition for benevolence; confidence; and justice. Baruch Spinoza

Rise and Fall

When I rise up let me rise up joyful like a bird.
When I fall let me fall without regret like a leaf. Wendell Berry

Meaning of Life

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit. D. Elton Trueblood

Who I Am

I do not need to pretend that I am anyone other than myself. I do not need to feel insecure about my perceptions. The self-cultivation that I undertake is to perfect who I am, not to become someone other than who I am. Tao

Suffering

Suffering usually relates to wanting things to be different from the way they are. Allan Lokos

Becoming

Man is born only as a potential. He can become a thorn for himself and for others, he can also become a flower for himself and for others. Osho

Depth

In meditation go deep in the heart. In dealing with others be gentle and kind. Lao Tsu

Love

Love is a friendship set to music. E. Joseph Cossman

Hatred and Love

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it. Martin Luther King Jr.