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Witt Lowry Quote on Happiness and Why You Need To Free Yourself From Materialism

    “If you’re not happy, you’re forever in debt.”

    Witt Lowry, Debt

    Beyond the Quote (228/365)

    Debt is something, typically money, that’s owed. When you borrow $20 from your friend, you’re in debt to them. Until you pay them back, you will have that debt weighing on your shoulders. That’s why repaying a debt is such a gratifying, lightening feeling. You’re lightening the worry of your load. But, what about the debts that we imaginarily create in our minds? Sounds ridiculous, right? But, think about it.

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    John Leland Quote on Happiness and How Gratitude is the Key That Unlocks the Door

      “Some people are grateful seemingly as their default state, even when no one’s looking.  Their lives aren’t necessarily better than other people’s, but they find more reasons to give thanks for their small rewards.  Fred Jones was one of those people.  Giving thanks made him happy, which made him grateful, which made him happy.”

      John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 119)

      Beyond the Quote (221/365)

      Maybe you know one of those people too? A person who seems to be grateful by default and is seemingly more happy as a result. Or maybe it’s that they’re more happy by default so they express more gratitude? Does it matter which one it is? Does one cause the other or are they both inextricably linked? …I believe that it does matter and understanding this catch-22 will help you understand how to be more like the Fred Jones’ of the world. Let’s take a closer look.

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      Og Mandino Quote on Happiness and How It Is A Gift—Not A Desire

        “So long as I can laugh never will I be poor.  This, then, is one of nature’s greatest gifts, and I will waste it no more.  Only with laughter and happiness can I truly become a success.  Only with laughter and happiness can I enjoy the fruits of my labor.  Were it not so, far better would it be to fail, for happiness is the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal.  To enjoy success I must have happiness, and laughter will be the maiden who serves me.”

        Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

        Beyond the Quote (218/365)

        Laughter and happiness isn’t something that you save for later. Nor is it something that you should have to pay for or have to work to achieve. It’s not hidden in some exotic destination. And it’s not found in a designer store nor is it unlocked with a blue checkmark on a social platform. Laughter and happiness is, as Mandino points out above, “one of nature’s greatest gifts.” It’s a gift that has already been given to you. It is given to everyone at birth. You can access it at any time. If you can’t access or unlock this gift, it isn’t because it isn’t there, it’s because you have become confused or have misplaced or forgotten about it.

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        Osho Quote on Balance and How Both Happiness and Sadness Are Needed In Life

          “Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.”

          Osho

          Beyond the Quote (191/365)

          We don’t go through life, we grow through life. We don’t move along a timeline from birth to death in a unilateral direction. We move bilaterally through life—both upward and downward—like a tree. A tree doesn’t just grow a trunk and branches and leaves in a singular direction towards the sun. It grows roots, too—it grows downward. And without a proportional amount of roots the tree cannot stand. And neither can we.

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            “The happiness that is derived from some secondary source is never very deep. It is only a pale reflection of the joy of Being, the vibrant peace that you find within as you enter the state of nonresistance. Being takes you beyond the polar opposites of the mind and frees you from dependency on form. Even if everything were to collapse and crumble all around you, you would still feel a deep inner core of peace. You may not be happy, but you will be at peace.”

            Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 188)

              “Nothing out there will ever satisfy you except temporarily and superficially, but you may need to experience many disillusionments before you realize that truth. Things and conditions can give you pleasure, but they will also give you pain. Things and conditions can give you pleasure, but they cannot give you joy. Nothing can give you joy. Joy is uncaused and arises from within as the joy of Being.”

              Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 187)

              Jacob Held Quote on Perspective and How What We See Is A Reflection of Who We Are

                “We can’t change what life is, but we can change how we react to and interpret it.”

                Jacob Held

                Beyond the Quote (148/365)

                To start, a story of two dogs. Both at separate times walk into the same room. One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling. A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise she finds a room filled with mirrors. The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him. What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.

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                Kahlil Gibran Quote on Giving To Others That Which You Most Hope To Receive (and Knowing What to Give)

                  “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

                  Kahlil Gibran

                  Beyond the Quote (118/365)

                  Once a group of 500 people were attending a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each person a balloon. Each person was then asked to write their name on it using a marker. Then all of the balloons were collected and put in another room.

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                  Quote about Ubuntu and How We Are All Connected

                    Ubuntu

                    Beyond the Quote (103/365)

                    Once, an anthropologist proposed a game to kids in an African tribe.  He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them that whoever got there first would win the entire basket.  When he gave them the signal to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together.  Once they arrived at the tree, they sat in a circle and enjoyed the fruits together.  When he asked them why they chose to run as a group when they could have raced against each other for the whole basket, one child spoke up and said, “UBUNTU—how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”

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                    James Clear Quote on Happiness and How It’s About Absence Not Achievement

                      “Happiness is simply the absence of desire.  When you observe a cue, but do not desire to change your state, you are content with the current situation.  Happiness is not about the achievement of pleasure (which is joy or satisfaction), but about the lack of desire.  It arrives when you have no urge to feel differently.  Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer want to change your state.”

                      James Clear, Atomic Habits

                      Beyond the Quote (94/365)

                      People think becoming invincible is impossible—I’d like to argue to the contrary.  How do we become invincible?  By freeing ourselves of desire.  As soon as a want is created a vulnerability is exposed that can be leveraged—by others or even your own mind.  Think about this in the context of a negotiation.

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                      Osho Quote on Sadness and How To Relax Into It, Change Its Form, and Look Deeper Into It

                        “Whenever you feel sad, sit by the side of a tree, by the side of the river, by the side of a rock, and just relax into your sadness without any fear.  The more you relax, the more you will become acquainted with the beauties of sadness.  Then sadness will start changing its form; it will become a silent joy, uncaused by anybody outside you.  That will not be shallow happiness, which can be taken away very easily.  And getting deeper into your aloneness, one day you will find not only joy – joy is only midway.  Happiness is very superficial, depends on others; joy is in the middles, does not depend on anyone.  But going deeper you will come to the state of bliss – that’s what I call enlightenment.”

                        Osho, Love, Freedom, Alonenss: The Koan of Relationships

                        Beyond the Quote (93/365)

                        Whenever you are feeling a deep emotion—sit with it.  Do not rush to do anything else.  Do not turn on the TV; do not turn on a podcast; do not log into your social media accounts; do not pour a glass of wine; do not conduct busywork; do not go shopping; do not experiment with drugs; do not call your ex.  Just, sit with it.

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                          “It’s fine to take pleasure, to enjoy good food, and to listen to beautiful music.  Becoming curious about how we suffer doesn’t mean that we can no longer enjoy eating ice cream.  But once we begin to understand the bewilderment of our untrained mind, we won’t look to the ice cream and say, ‘That’s happiness.’ We’ll realize that the mind can be happy devoid of ice cream.  We’ll realize that the mind is content and happy by nature.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 23)

                            “True happiness is always available to us, but first we have to create the environment for it to flourish.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 6)

                              “Too often we think that if only we undo the impediments to our happiness, we can be truly happy.  But there are always more impediments, more reasons not to be happy now.  Helen chose instead to embrace the life she had.  She didn’t resent her daughter’s meddling or feel sorry for herself because she wasn’t getting married; she didn’t magnify her unmet desires by treating them as a punishment.  They were life, her life.  Impediments are the circumstances in which we find happiness.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 178)