“Only he who accepts that the essence or meaning of his life is not material but spiritual can be free.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 187)
“If you are a Muslim, go and live as a Christian; if you are a Christian live as a Jew; if you are Catholic, live as an Orthodox—whatever religion you have, hold the same respect for people of different religions. If your speech together does not arouse or excite you to indignation and if you can freely communicate with them, you have achieved peace. It is said that the object of every religion is the same: all people look for love, and all the world is a place of love. Then why should we speak about the difference between the Muslim church and the Christian church?”
Islamic Wisdom, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 186)
“When you suffer, think not on how you can escape suffering, but concentrate your efforts on what kind of inner moral and spiritual perfection this suffering requires.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 185)
“We can understand wisdom in three ways: first, by meditation; this is the most noble way. Secondly, by being influenced by someone or following someone; this is the easiest way. Third is the way of experience; this is the most difficult way.”
Confucius, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 185)
“Do not raise your hand against your brother, and do not spill the blood of any living creatures who live on earth, neither human beings nor pets nor wild animals nor birds. In the depth of your soul some divine voice stops you from spilling this blood. There is life in it. You cannot return this life.”
Alphonse Lamartine, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 184)
“When life gets scary and difficult, we tend to look for solutions in places where it is easy or at least familiar to do so, and not in the dark, uncomfortable places where real solutions might lie.”
Robert Maurer, One Small Step Can Change Your Life
“The advice shouldn’t be to act your age. It should be to act your spirit. Your age may try to prohibit you from dancing like that, or starting over, or trying something new. But your spirit would never do such a thing. If something feels aligned, your spirit wants you to go for it, whether you’re 15 or 85. Acting your age makes you fit in more, while acting your spirit will indeed cause you to stand out—in a bad way to people who act their age, but in an inspiring way to those who act their spirit. Try acting your spirit from time to time, and you can see for yourself which path makes you feel more alive.”
Light Watkins
“Life is a series of tradeoffs, and greater results usually require greater tradeoffs. The question is not, ‘Do you want to be great at this?’ The question is, ‘What are you willing to give up in order to be great at this?’”
James Clear, Blog
“On the ground, a rock is just a rock. But when moving at high speed through the atmosphere, a rock becomes a meteor—alive with fire and burning bright. People are not so different. Without activity, we are lifeless and dull. When moving fast and taking action, we come alive.”
James Clear, Blog
“There can be only one way to fight the general evil of life: it is in the moral, religious, and spiritual perfection of your own life.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 180)
“Yes, love is about giving, but self-love is about doing what you need to do to enhance your own inner light and knowing your own limits. Treating yourself well is critical if you want to build harmony with another human being. The interaction between love and self-love should help form a balance where both people can aspire to be selfless but at the same time are clear on what they need so that their personal happiness can be supported.”
Yung Pueblo
“Say your son or daughter jumps into the car after soccer practice and says, ‘I hate it. I’m never going back. I quit.’ This always strikes a nerve with parents who are likely to respond with: ‘You can’t quit. Where’s your team spirit?’ or ‘Oh my God, what happened? I’m going to call the coach!’ or ‘Are you hungry? Let’s go eat. You’ll feel better.’ None of that is listening. Grilling them about what happened is interrogating. Telling them they shouldn’t feel how they feel is minimizing. And changing the subject is just maddening. Kids, like all of us, just want to be heard. Try instead, ‘Have you always felt this way?’ or ‘What would quitting mean?’ Look at it as an invitation to have a conversation, not as something to be fixed or get upset about.”
Kate Murphy, You’re Not Listening
“The most valuable lesson I’ve learned as a journalist is that everybody is interesting if you ask the right questions. If someone is dull or uninteresting, it’s on you.”
Kate Murphy, You’re Not Listening
“People are naturally more emotional and permeable to the moods of others. Work with human nature and turn this into a positive by infecting the group with the proper set of emotions. People are more susceptible to the moods and attitudes of the leader than of anyone else.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 208)
“The Kiso road was dangerous, winding over several steep mountain passes. Much as we tried to help one another, our inexperience showed. There were many mistakes. Nervous and worried, we made mistakes, but learning to laugh at them gave us courage to continue.”
Bashō, Narrow Road To The Interior (Page 89)
“There is only one thing in the world which is worth dedicating all your life. This is creating more love among people and destroying barriers which exist between them.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 173)
“Almost every effort of the human mind is directed, not toward lightening the work of the laborer, but toward making more pleasant the idleness of the leisured.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 173)
“Always respond to hatred with kindness. The most difficult enterprises are easiest at their inception, and the greatest of enterprises have humble origins. Confront difficulties while they are still easy, then, and tackle a big thing when it is still small.”
Lao-Tzu, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 172)
“Each twist in the road brought new sights, each dawn renewed my inspiration. Wherever I met another person with even the least appreciation for artistic excellence, I was overcome with joy. Even those I’d expected to be stubbornly old-fashioned often proved to be good companions. People often say that the greatest pleasures of traveling are finding a sage hidden behind weeds or treasures hidden in trash, gold among discarded pottery. Whenever I encountered someone of genius, I wrote about it in order to tell my friends.”
Bashō, Narrow Road To The Interior (Page 81)