“We search for happiness all our lives, through presidents on a bill, degrees framed on walls, shiny fast cars, beautiful naked bodies, little boxes with little rings, and white picket fences. Perhaps they do make you feel happy, for a little while. Then you feel empty again. Just like a bucket with a hole on the bottom being filled with water. You can fill it with as much water as you can but when the water stop running, and the splashes are gone, and stillness comes, it’s empty again. Genuine happiness isn’t a goal and you can’t find it through anything that is tangible. It’s a state of mind that keeps you in the present moment wherein you are happy and grateful for everything in your life no matter what you have, where you are, and who you are with. To acquire this mental state you have to learn how to live in solitude and learn how to love yourself. You have to learn how to let go of all that is tangible and embrace the abundance of love and beauty the world is offering around you. You will find that happiness has been within you all along.” ~ Satori, infinitesatori.org
“There are as many kinds of people as there are people. Do not fight your own individuality, your own boundless alienation within a world of other aliens. Bond with your fellow people. We’re all here alone and might as well help one another out. Help yourself understand people, and, in doing so, you will help them understand you. Most importantly, you will come to understand yourself as you evolve and mature.” ~ Unknown, The Daily Zen