“My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs.”
Tara Westover, Educated
“I still wear makeup when I feel like it, though less of it, and I still enjoy experimenting with a new shade of lipstick or eye shadow. The point is that I, and everyone else, have a choice. And we should be able to freely make that choice, from one moment to the next, without society’s ‘standard of beauty’ hovering over us. I am my own standard-bearer. So are you.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 211)
“It’s hard to pinpoint the precise moment when we internalize others’ assessments; it’s usually not just a single experience but rather a series of moments that bruise the spirit and lead us to distrust ourselves and those around us. And then we wake up at age seventeen or twenty-five or thirty-seven and realize we don’t know the last time we’ve lived life only to please ourselves.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 29)
Chögyam Trungpa Quote on Managing Desire and Being Able To Afford To Relax
“When there is no desire to satisfy yourself, there is no aggression or speed… Because there is no rush to achieve, you can afford to relax. Because you can afford to relax, you can afford to keep company with yourself, you can afford to make love with yourself, to be friends with yourself.”
Chögyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, via Sunbeams (Page 3)
Beyond the Quote (Day 372)
If you feel like you can’t afford to relax, you should reevaluate what it is exactly that you’re trying to afford. Hustle culture has us working from the minute we get up until the minute we go to bed—and leaves many of us feeling like we STILL didn’t do enough. We stress about the things we didn’t finish, the things we have yet to start, and how we’re going to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be—so that we can finally… relax.
Read More »Chögyam Trungpa Quote on Managing Desire and Being Able To Afford To Relax
“All that is beautiful and all that is good and all that is divine can be felt only by the inner sense. Stop being influenced by people’s opinions. Rather, start looking in… allow your inner sense to say things to you. Trust it. If you trust it, it will grow. If you trust it, you will feed it, it will become stronger.”
Osho, Courage (Page 106)
Martin Luther King Quote on Light vs. Darkness and Love vs. Hate
“Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Beyond the Quote (321/365)
Darkness is not something you battle. It’s not something you fight. It’s not something you can punch, kick, hit, push, shove, or choke. For darkness takes no form. It has no body. It takes no shape. It’s not something that will ever submit. Darkness is an absence—an absence of light. And the only way to combat an absence is with a presence.
Read More »Martin Luther King Quote on Light vs. Darkness and Love vs. Hate“Drop all fears and love more—and love unconditionally. Don’t think that you are doing something for the other when you love; you are doing something for yourself. When you love it is beneficial to you. So don’t wait; don’t say that when others love, you will love—that is not the point at all. Be selfish. Love is selfish. Love people—you will be fulfilled through it, you will be getting more and more blessedness through it. And when love goes deeper, fear disappears; love is the light, fear is darkness.”
Osho, Courage (Page 70)
Leslie Ralph Quote on Feeling Complete and How To Feel Whole Even With Holes In Your Life
“How can anyone feel complete when they only ever accept a fraction of themselves?”
Leslie Ralph, Tiny Buddha
Beyond the Quote (304/365)
Many people try and fill the “holes” in their lives with another person. The “holes” being fears, doubts, insecurities, and traumas that might have been a part of their past that leave them feeling un-whole. Like parts of them are missing. Like there are voids that they can’t quite figure out or understand. Like only “half” of a person who needs another “half” to feel completed. But, there are two problems with this way of thinking.
Read More »Leslie Ralph Quote on Feeling Complete and How To Feel Whole Even With Holes In Your Life25 Replenishing Quotes from The Gift Of A Year on Rest, Recovery, and Self Care
Excerpt: These 25 Quotes from The Gift Of A Year will replenish your soul and put the emphasis of your focus back to where it’s most important—on you.
Read More »25 Replenishing Quotes from The Gift Of A Year on Rest, Recovery, and Self Care
“Do you need to give yourself permission to do something big for your special year? Just imagine, as an alternative, spending the rest of your life being dragged behind the Great Dane of your overcommitments to others. For five minutes it’s cute. Over a lifetime, it destroys what’s best in you and what’s unique about you. If you don’t care about that, it’s too bad. Maybe they got you, all those voices working away from the time you were a little [child], trying to convince you that your only needs were to meet other people’s needs. But I think you do care. A lot.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 151)
“We never lose the good parts of ourselves we really care about. All the parts of yourself you’re wanting to put back in your life are there waiting for you. The pain you feel comes from the way these missing parts of yourself slowly choke from lack of oxygen when they’re buried. All you have to do is identify what’s really missing. Then make sure you find room for it in your life.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 111)
The Story of Two Wolves: A Tale About Handling Inner Conflict Mindfully
Excerpt: The story of two wolves. One is all things good. The other is all things bad. They both live inside. Which will win? The answer is in the tale…
Read More »The Story of Two Wolves: A Tale About Handling Inner Conflict Mindfully
“The people in your life are truly interested in your being happy. The confusing thing is that they don’t go around advertising this. Your boss, your kids, your husband mostly talk about how they need this and they need that from you. But when you’re unhappy, a part of their world collapses. So if you have to shuffle your priorities around and put someone last who’s been coming first, and some of the people in your life start giving you grief, just remember how happy they’ll be when you’re happy.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 37)
“I remember a long period when it seemed like all I did was bounce back and forth between my patients and my children. They all needed every ounce of what I had to give. I didn’t even feel I had time for my husband. It was as if I were surrounded by a wall of people who saw me as nothing more than the person who took care of them. Emotionally I didn’t feel I had room to breathe.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 34)
“There should be no sense of struggle or any risk of failure with the gift of a year. You’re doing something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. It’s about pleasure, indulgence, self-care, nurturing yourself, giving to yourself. It’s about seizing the day for yourself so you can do something you’ve long wanted to do. It’s not about making something happen. It’s about letting something happen. It’s not about pushing. It’s about stopping pushing.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 25)