Sunday, July 17, 2011

My Favorite Quotes

Quotes are powerful tools of inspiration. They can give you the perspective shift you need in an instant. I rely on my favorite quotes to lift me up when I'm feeling stuck or frustrated or too focused on myself and my own problems. Here are some of my favorites. I hope they inspire you too!

“Things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” ~ Pema Chödron

"We are all affecting the world every moment, whether we mean to or not. Our actions and states of mind matter, because we are so deeply interconnected with one another." ~ Ram Dass

"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

"Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth, 'You owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that, it lights up the whole sky." ~ Hafiz of Persia

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." ~Thich Nhat Hanh


"May my heart stay open and loving even when I'm feeling hurt and frayed.
"May I learn always to include others in love's vast embrace.
"May my heart remain pure and kind amid the painful details and muck of life.
"May virtue and serenity belong to all, even my competitors and adversaries.
"May my brokenheartedness open my heart even further (like open-heart surgery) and bring forth love and open-hearted compassion." ~ prayer by Lama Surya Das


“You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?” ~ Rumi


“There is something in us
That has nothing to do with night and day,
Diamonds which come from no earthly mine.” ~ Rumi


"Each one of us is merely a small instrument. When you look at the inner
workings of electrical things, often you see small and big wires, new and old, cheap and expensive, lined up. Until the current passes through them, there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, to produce the light of the world. Or we can refuse, and allow darkness to spread." ~ Mother Teresa


"Experience is not what happens to you. It's what you do with what happens to you." ~ Aldous Huxley