Seek Contentment, Not Wealth

 

Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy,
to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter,
and to lead but not manipulate.
- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994 writer, educator, and church lay leader)

The more generous we are, the more joyous we become.
The more cooperative we are, the more valuable we become.
The more enthusiastic we are, the more productive we become.
The more serving we are, the more prosperous we become.
- William Arthur Ward

He who is contented is rich.
- Lao Tzu

It is not our circumstances that create
our discontent or contentment.
It is us.
- Vivian Greene

It is not the man who has too little,
but the man who craves more, that is poor.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

A good life isn't measured in material goods.
There is no quicker path to misery than coveting your neighbors' stuff.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: What You Have That Money Can't Buy

Simple Joys, the Essence of Life

Contentment in Ourselves
        

Never Kowtow to the Expectations of Others

 

Always be a first-rate version of yourself,
instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
- Judy Garland

To free us from the expectations of others,
to give us back to ourselves -
there lies the great singular power of self-respect.
- Joan Didion

Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him,
and then choose that way with all his strength.
- Hasidic Saying

Be simply yourself and don't compare or compete.
- Lao Tzu

Since you are the one who has to live with your choices,
be sure they are your own.
- Alan Cohen

Further reading: Have Confidence in Yourself

Trust Your Own Advice

Believe in Yourself

Think for Yourself
       

Breathe in Eternal Peace

Breathe deeply and slowly.
Let yourself become centered - shutting out distractions.
Breathe in eternal peace; let your body fill with unconditional love.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

At the center of your being you have the answer;
you know who you are and you know what you want.
- Lao Tzu

A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others,
is stronger than any physical force in the universe.
- Wayne Dyer

When you become centered, suddenly there is great freedom
because you know you are not the mind and you are not the body.
- Osho

Further reading: Five 30-Second Emotional Releases to De-Stress at Work
     

Live Mindfully

 

To the mind that is still,
the whole universe surrenders.
- Lao Tzu

Being wakeful in each and every moment of your life is meditation.
The simplest definition of meditation is:
when seeing, just see; when hearing, just hear.
- Josh Baran

Walking is Zen, sitting is Zen.
Then what will be the quality?
Watchfully alert, joyously unmotivated,
centered, loving, flowing, one walks.
And the walking is sauntering.
Loving, alert, watchful, one sits, unmotivated -
not sitting for anything in particular,
just enjoying how beautiful
just sitting doing nothing is,
how relaxing, how restful.
- Osho

To manage your mind,
know that there is nothing,
and then relinquish all attachment to nothingness.
- Lao Tzu

"Beginner Mind" is a Zen Buddhist term
that describes moving past our assumptions
of the nature of our life,
and really SEEING our surroundings -
especially the people we interact with -
with new eyes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Managing Your Wayward Mind

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Opening Your Mind

The World is a Paradox

Stay Adaptable
    

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple

 

When a thing is funny, search it for a hidden truth.
- George Bernard Shaw

Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.
- Soren Kierkegaard

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.
- Oscar Wilde

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.
- George Carlin

Can you let go of words and ideas,
attitudes and expectations?
If so, then the Tao will loom into view.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: Life is a Riddle

Accept that Life is Complex and Contradictory
    

Stop Deceiving Yourself

 

 You can't know your real mind as long as you deceive yourself.
- Bodhidharma

He who knows others is wise.
He who knows himself is enlightened.
- Lao Tzu

Find out what you don't want to know about yourself,
what you're afraid of.
- Linda Evans

How strange that, although we dwell within ourselves,
we seldom know what we truly want
or what we truly believe about important matters.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.
- Benjamin Spock

Further reading: At the center of your being you have the answer

Be Simply Yourself

Know Thyself

Follow Your Bliss
      

Something to Ponder...

There are trivial truths and there are great truths.
The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false.
The opposite of a great truth is also true.
- Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics, is making a point that is very Zen - or very Taoist if one prefers.

An example of a "great truth" for which the opposite is also true is the statement, "You are not your body; you are not your mind." While it is very true, if one so believes, that the "real you" is neither physical nor mental, it is simultaneously true that your body and your mind are very real, and ignoring their reality is likely to cause great suffering.

Another example of a "great truth" is the Golden Rule. It is true that we should treat others as we wish to be treated in the sense of being kind and compassionate to everyone. Yet the opposite of the Golden Rule is also true in the sense that it is kind and compassionate to recognize that everyone is called to a different life path and to honor those differences.

[As always, the purpose of these daily messages to provide something to think about, rather than to attempt to dictate conclusions.]

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

The more opinions you have, the less you see.
- Wim Wenders

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: What is "The Truth?"

To Keep the Golden Rule

What You're Sure You Know, But Don't

The Golden Rule is Not Always Golden
    

Appreciate Small Joys and Little Pleasures

 

It is of the small joys and little pleasures
that the greatest of our days are built.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Maybe life isn't really as complicated
as we make it out to be.
Perhaps a simple child-like attitude would create
a less stressful and happier life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
- Lao Tzu

Today's project:
Meaningful and joyful lives are lived by adhering to one's personal value system - one's principles. Today, write your six to eight most important values on an index card, and refer to that card as you go about your life today.

Further reading: Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

The Secret of Happiness

A Simple Life

What If Happiness...
     

Beware the Illusion of Knowledge

 

To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows
will lead to difficulty.
- Lao Tzu

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Truth is not defined by
how many people believe something.
Ask. Question. Think.
Decide - for yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you have a very strong FEELING that something is true, often it isn't.
WANTING something to be true doesn't make it true.
Likewise, being AFRAID that something is true doesn't make it true either.

Further reading: Truth isn't True. Reality isn't Real.

The Danger of Assumptions

Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind
    

Our Darknesses

 

Everything that irritates us about others
can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
- Carl Jung

Fear grows in darkness;
if you think there's a bogeyman around,
turn on the light.
- Dorothy Thompson

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
- Lao Tzu

Knowing your own darkness is the best method
for dealing with the darknesses of other people.
- Carl Jung

Further reading: Categorizing People

Prejudice

Driving Out Darkness
     

Your Inner Journey

The only journey is the one within.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
- T. S. Eliot

The longest journey is the journey inwards.
Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started
upon his quest for the source of his being.
- Dag Hammarskjold

The key to growth is the introduction of
higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
- Lao Tzu

Never make your home in a place.
Make a home for yourself inside your own head.
You'll find what you need to furnish it -
memory, friends you can trust, love of learning,
and other such things.
That way it will go with you wherever you journey.
- Tad Williams

Further reading: At the Center of Your Being

You Can't Escape Yourself

How We See Things
    

Prepare Now

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

- Benjamin Franklin

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
- Malcolm X

At times it is folly to hasten,
at other times to delay.
The wise do everything in its proper time.
- Ovid

All difficult things have
their origin in that which is easy,
and great things in that which is small.
- Lao Tzu

Whether it is a health condition, a family feud, or overdue bills, manage small fires before they become uncontrollable blazes.

Further reading: Later is Never

Take Action

Eight Rules for Living Your Greatest Life

    

See your own Self in all beings

 

When you experience the unity of life,
you see your own Self in all beings,
and all beings in your own Self.
- The Buddha (paraphrase)

Simply see that you are at the center of the universe,

and accept all things and beings
as parts of your infinite body.
When you perceive that an act done to another
is done to yourself,
you have understood the great truth.
- Lao Tzu

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.
- generally attributed to Chief Seattle

but actually written by Ted Perry in 1972

We are all connected to everyone and everything in the universe.
Therefore, everything one does as an individual affects the whole.
All thoughts, words, images, prayers, blessings, and deeds
are listened to by all that is.
- Serge Kahili King

Further reading: Everything is God

Sharing the Same Breath

One With Spirit and All Creation

All Brothers and Sisters
   

True Peace Can Only Be Found From Within

 

What is real is beyond all reach.
- Julian Green

We know nothing at all.
All our knowledge is but the knowledge of schoolchildren.
The real nature of things we shall never know.
- Albert Einstein

Each one has to find his peace from within.
And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion,
for the real and for the truth.
- Abraham Maslow

The wise man looks into space,
and does not regard the small as too little,
nor the great as too much;
for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions.
- Lao Tzu

True religion is real living;
living with all one's soul,
with all one's goodness and righteousness.
- Albert Einstein

Know that you are unlimited.

Today's affirmation: I have ready access to a power beyond my wildest imagination.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Go Beyond

Abundance

Beauty and Adventure

The time has come

FEAR
      

Keep Searching

 

Let today be a day to open your eyes to the unfamiliar and the hidden.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

There are many answers you have received but have not yet heard.
- A Course In Miracles

God is not what you imagine
or what you think you understand.
If you understand you have failed.
- Saint Augustine

Who rises from prayer a better man, his prayer is answered.
- George Meredith

At the center of your being you have the answer;
you know who you are and you know what you want.
- Lao Tzu

As long as one keeps searching, the answers come.
- Joan Baez

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.
- Epictetus

When the solution is simple, God is answering.
- Albert Einstein

The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask from books,
but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching.
- Joseph Smith, Jr.

Further reading: Have a Conversation With God, Today

Find A Way

The Power of Asking the Right Questions

A Fire to be Kindled

Beyond Answers
     

Be a Master of Patience

 

A person who is a master of patience is master of everything else.
- George Savile [paraphrase]

A tree that is unbending, is easily broken.
- Lao Tzu

When you encounter difficulties and contradictions,
do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.
- Saint Francis de Sales

Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is...
The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.
- Dan Millman

Do not attempt to conquer the world with force,
for force only causes resistance.
- Lao Tzu

Read the Aesop fable The Oak and the Reeds

Further reading: The Secret of Happiness

The River of Life

Enjoy the Journey     

Stay Flexible and Enjoy the Journey

Life is not always as it seems.
What you have wished for is not always best.
What you have feared may become a blessing.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
- Lao Tzu

Change always comes bearing gifts.
- Price Pritchett

Zig as Life Zigs and Zag as Life Zags.
Stay Adaptable, Stay Joyful
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Change of any sort requires courage.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Today's affirmation:
I choose to adapt to the circumstances in which I find myself.
I choose to be flexible in my dealings with those around me.
I understand that my way is not the only way -
that inner peace comes from respecting the ways of others,
and that, if I am open, I may gain great insights and happiness
from the ideas and traditions of others.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Go With the Flow

Be Flexible

There is a Way

Enjoy the Journey
      

Kindness is Essential

 

Kindness is perhaps the most essential quality of being fully human.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
- Joseph Joubert

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
- Dalai Lama

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Albert Pike: What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us.

Aesop: Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail

The Cab Ride
     

Subtlety and Patience

 

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water,
yet nothing can resist it.
- Lao Tzu

Choose your battles wisely.
While your core principles and your life goals are important,
most of what you let upset you is not worth an argument or lost sleep.
Take Lao Tzu's advice and become softer and more flexible.

Patience, persistence, and perseverance.
A little more each day, a little better each day.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you encounter difficulties and contradictions,
do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.
- Saint Francis de Sales

Patience can't be acquired overnight.
It is just like building up a muscle.
Every day you need to work on it.
- Eknath Easwaran

The key to everything is patience.
You get the chicken by hatching the egg,
not by smashing it open.
- Arnold H. Glasgow

Gentleness Surpasses Rigidity.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Tread Lightly

Be Gentle with Yourself

Aesop: Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail

The Oak and the Reeds - a fable by Aesop
    

The First Step

 

Today... maybe I can take one step
on that profoundly complex path to peace.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Lao Tzu (Chinese Proverb)

The first step towards the solution
of any problem is optimism.
- John Baines

A little simplification would be
the first step toward rational living.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Believe in yourself,
in your vision for your future
and in your ability to take a small step
each day toward achieving your vision.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Edge of All You Know

The Jump is So Frightening - Mary Anne Radmacher

How to Create a Great Future

Boldly Sail the Storms of Life