“Love will break your heart--but it’s worth it.”

“Keep your bullshit detector in good working order.”

“Judge people from where they stand, not from where you stand.”

“I’ve been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.” Erma Bombeck

“It’s easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble.”

“It’s the good girls who keep diaries; the bad ones never have time.” T. Bankhead

“Don’t compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got.” Janis Joplin

“If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.” E.M. Forster

“If you want a persons’ faults, go to those who love him. They will not tell you, but they know.” R.L. Stevenson

“I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.” Walt Whitman

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...it has no survival value. Rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” C.S. Lewis

“Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.” Oscar Wilde

“Here at the frontier, there are falling leaves. Although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, you are a thousand miles away, there are always two cups on my table.” Tang Dynasty

“We have been talking as old friends should talk, about nothing, about everything.” Lillian Hellman

“Never refuse any advance of friendship, for if 9 out of 10 bring you nothing, one alone may repay you.” C. Tencin

“Part of the trouble is that I’ve never properly understood that some disasters accumulate, that they don’t all land like a child out of an apple tree.” J. Burroway

“For years I have endeavored to calm an impetuous tide--laboring to make my feelings take an orderly course--it was striving against the stream.” Mary Wollstonecraft

“My life’s a pool which can only hold one star and a glimpse of blue.” M. Riley Smith

“I look forward to growing old and wise and audacious.” Glenda Jackson

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” E. Roosevelt

“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” Colette

“The idea of strictly minding our own business is moldy rubbish--Who could be so selfish?” Myrtle Barker

“It is better to die on your feet than life on your knees.”

“There is love that makes sense of your life and love that makes you senseless about life.” Diane Wakski

“Man is the only animal that blushes. OR needs to.” M. Twain

“If you don’t know the ending to a joke---don’t start it.”

“You put the happy in my ness. You put the good times in my fun. They say time will make all this go away – but it’s time that has taken my tomorrows and turned them into yesterdays. And once gain that rising sun is dropping on down – and once again, you my friend, are no where to be found.” – B.Harper

My life is like a stroll on the beach – as near to the edge as I can go – Thoreau

“I was at a party feeling very shy because there were a lot of celebrities around and I was sitting in a corner alone and a very beautiful young man came up to me and offered me some salted peanuts and he said, “I wish they were emeralds” as he handed me the peanuts and that was the end of my heart. I never got it back.” Helen Hayes

This is how we love, Buddha-style: impartial to all, free from excessive attachment or false hope and expectation; accepting, tolerant, and forgiving. Buddhist nonattachment doesn't imply complacence or indifference, or not having committed relationships or being passionately engaged with society, but rather has to do with our effort to defy change and resist the fact of impermanence and our mortality. By holding on to that which in any case is forever slipping through our fingers, we just get rope burn.

You only lose what you cling to

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something,and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

Happiness does not come from having much, but from being attached to little

The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes. Pema Chodron

Do not pursue the past.Do not lose yourself in the future.The past no longer is.The future has not yet come.Looking deeply at life as it is.In the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.We must be diligent today.To wait until tomorrow is too late.Death comes unexpectedly.How can we bargain with it?The sage calls a person who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day,'one who knows the better way to live alone.'Bhaddekaratta Sutta

What you eat cannot purify your mind - but is there greed behind your choice of eating? If yes, the mind that eats is not pure - be your choice vegetarian or not.

Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.

The purpose of all the major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts. - Dalhi Lama

Daily Necessities
Tips & pointers for building a spiritual life from scratch

Pray
Meditate
Be aware
Stay awake
Bow
Practise yoga
Feel
Chant and sing
Breathe and smile
Relax
Enjoy
Laugh
Play
Create
Envision
Let Go
Forgive
Accept
Walk
Exercise
Move
Work
Serve
Contribute
Listen
Learn
Enquire
Consider
Reflect
Cultivate oneself
Enhance competencies
Cultivate contentment
Cultivate flexibility
Cultivate friendship and collaboration
Lighten up
Celebrate and appreciate
Dream
Give thanks
Evolve
Love
Share
Give
Receive
Walk softly
Live gently
Expand
Radiate
Dissolve
Simplify
Surrender
Trust
Be born anew
--from Awakening The Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das

Believe nothing on the faith of traditions, even though they have been held in honor for many generations and in diverse places. Do not believe a thing because many people speak of it. Do not believe on the faith of the sages of the past. Do not believe what you yourself have imagined, persuading yourself that a God inspires you.Believe nothing on the sole authority of your masters and priests. After examination, believe what you yourself have tested and found to be reasonable, and conform your conduct thereto.

Be Still

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger

The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves "inside the skin" of the other. We "go inside" their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with another's suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."

Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice DEEP LOOKING directed toward the other person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love. If you cannot understand, you cannot love. That is the message of the Buddha

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love.

Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise. - Surangama Sutra

You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere.

These reported events are like an arrow shot at my heart but it lands at my feet. I choose not to bend over, pick it up, and stab myself with it.

All know the Way, but few actually walk it.

In criticizing, the teacher is hoping to teach. That's all. -- Bankei

Be like bamboo. It is strong on the outside and soft and open on the inside. The stem stands freely in the wind and bends, it does not resist. What bends is harder to break." - Buddhist teaching

Fairy tales don’t tell children that dragons exist – children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.

Some would call me a cheat, call me a liar, Say that I’ve been defeated by my basest desires. Yes, I have strayed and succumbed to my vices, but I tried to live right.

Speak kind to a stranger because you never know it just might be an angel knocking at your door.

Your eyes shine to me – You are divine to me – you were meant for me – you were sent to me – you’re my beloved one.

whatever our souls are made of yours and mine are the same. emily bronte

“Help me to see – explain it to me – oh baby please, come home again. Now I’ve heard that men crave adventure – so I’ll tell you what I have arranged – If you left cause you needed a different girl, come home and you’ll find that I’ve changed”

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended where I intended to be – douglas adams

Timo Cruz: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

good and bad you think you know as if thinking makes things so