“Do not be critics, you people, I beg you. I was a critic and I wish I could take it all back because it came from a smelly and ignorant place in me, and spoke with a voice that was all rage and envy. Do not dismiss a book until you have written one, and do not dismiss a movie until you have made one, and do not dismiss a person until you have met them. It is a f@*$%load of work to be open-minded and generous and understanding and forgiving and accepting, but Christ, that is what matters. What matters is saying yes.” ~ Dave Eggers, via Blog of Jonathan Fields
“I spend so much time worrying about whether people will like and respect me in the years ahead, but there is nothing I can do to make that happen. I can only work on liking and respecting myself and others, look for Spirit in each of us, and learn to accept inevitable frustration, fear, and anger without blaming myself or the external world. My task is to stay centered, not manipulate others to make me feel ok.” ~ Robert Kull, Solitude
“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.” ~ Timothy Gallwey
“We don’t need to justify love; it is there or not there. Real love is accepting other people the way they are without trying to change them. If we try to change them, this means we don’t really like them.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements
