Grasping at the Shadow

Beware that you do not lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.
- Aesop  [Read The Dog and the Shadow - A Fable by Aesop]

The envious person grows lean
with the fatness of their neighbor.
- Socrates

Evil has no substance of its own, but is only the defect,
excess, perversion, or corruption of that which has substance.
- John Henry Newman

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

Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all.
- Joseph Epstein

Further reading: This God Called Money

Attitude toward Gratitude

Discovery and Adventure, rather than Fear

The Shadow of Worry

Feeling Better about Life

Just smiling goes a long way toward making you feel better about life.
And when you feel better about life, your life is better.
- Art Linkletter

Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts,
cause your mind to dwell on peace and joy.
- Ernest Holmes

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen?
Then prepare to accept it.
Then proceed to improve on the worst.
- Dale Carnegie

Always do the best you can,
and everything else will take care of itself.
Focus your energies on doing what you can
rather than worrying about what you can't.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Today's affirmation:
Every day in every way I am getting better and better.
- Émile Coué

Further reading:  Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

Choosing to Smile

Giving of Yourself

Beyond Your Worries

Overflowing Cup of Tea - Zen Koan

Practice Keen Awareness

Let us not look back in anger
or forward in fear,
but around in awareness.
- James Thurber

Pay attention. Cultivate awareness.
Life cannot be lived fully or joyfully if
our thoughts are focused on regretting the past,
preoccupied with anticipating the future,
or lost in the mind-fog of unconscious habitual behavior.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is the Consciousness with which we participate
in activities that makes the difference.
- Michael Beckwith

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.
- Napoleon Hill

What is necessary to change a person is
to change his awareness of himself.
- Abraham Maslow

Today's affirmation: I practice keen awareness,
and make my choices with consciousness, courage,
and compassion toward all.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Assumptions are Dangerous

Letting Go and Accepting This Moment

Prejudice

Conscious Action

Responsibility, Not Blame

A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure
until he begins to blame somebody else.
- John Burroughs

The impulse to blame something or someone is foolishness.
There is nothing to be gained in blaming,
whether it be others or oneself.
- Epictetus

When you are impeccable, you take
responsibility for your actions,
but you do not judge or blame yourself.
- don Miguel Ruiz

It is an act of great Courage to forsake all Blame.
Take responsibility for your whole life -
regardless of circumstances.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past.
Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
- John F. Kennedy

Today's affirmation:
I accept that no one else has ever been to blame
for either my joy or my suffering.
The entire cause of all my joys and all my sufferings
is my own emotional response to the events of my life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Someone to Blame

Creating Your Masterwork

Anger is a Killing Thing

Why I Choose to Believe that Others are Never the Cause of My Unhappiness

Confession of Sins

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- 1 John 1:8-9

Don't let your sins turn into bad habits.
- Mother Teresa

The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.
- Saint Augustine

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye;
and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
- Matthew 7:5

Three conditions are necessary for Penance:
1. Contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment;
2. Confession of sins without any omission; and
3. Satisfaction by means of good works.
- Saint Thomas Aquinas

While in a religious context, "sin" is defined as "violating God's will,"
a more universal definition might be "harming others."

Further reading: Your Own Darkness

Hypocrisy

Love One Another

Judge Not