“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.”
This quote, by Wayne Dyer, has a way of making us think beyond the here and now–beyond the things that may be weighing us down and beyond our physical being. We are all so much more than our occupation, physical appearance, accomplishments, and shortcomings. It’s important to take care of our body. But in addition to that, how can we take care of our soul? It’s a part of us that’s all our own. One that can never be duplicated or imitated.
“When you connect to the silence within you, that is when you can make sense of the disturbance going on around you.”
When there’s chaos and stress around us, it’s only natural that we begin to internalize it. In a way, the stressors enter our bloodstream, affecting our mental and physical health. But what if we can create an impenetrable barrier between the stresses around us and our inner selves? What if we can tap into an inner sense of peace that can ride any storm? That’s what this quote, by Stephen Richards, is about–Finding inner peace. Moreover, when we can find and hold on to our inner peace, the chaos around us begins to make more sense.
“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”
“Let there be room for not knowing.” This quote, by Pema Chödrön, is about finding comfort in not knowing. This sounds like a contradicting response to uncertainty. The typical and most natural response is anxiety and discomfort. However, not knowing can actually be the thing that takes away our sense of anxiety and discomfort. As this quote states, not knowing means we don’t know the end of the story; And what a beautiful thing that is. So when there’s a big disappointment, we don’t really know if it’s the beginning of something good. Therefore, we can replace our anxiety and discomfort in not knowing with a feeling of hope.
“Awakening is not changing who you are, but discarding who you are not.”
Awakening is transformative and intense. It leads to self-discovery and deeper understanding. Furthermore, it requires intention, reflection, meditation, and prayer. Often, the primary focus is to change who we are. However, this quote, by Deepak Chopra, reminds us that discarding who we are not is just as important. Because when we become less of what we are not, we become more of who we really are. We get rid of all the noise, distractions, pretenses, and imitations that obscure our path.
“Anything that makes you weak–physically, intellectually and spiritually–reject it as poison.”
A poison is anything that can cause illness or death to a living thing. This quote, by Swami Vivekananda, helps us recognize that toxic people, environments, and situations are poisonous. They make us weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually. We would undoubtably reject poison in its tangible form. However, we don’t always reject it in the other ways it can appear in our lives. So, let us remember to reject the things that cause similar harm–The things that ill or deaden our body, mind, and soul.
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“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.”
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“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”
Sometimes we tend to have a much greater compassion for others than we do for ourselves. We understand when others make an unintended mistake and we’re prepared to help them in times of need. Meanwhile, we may be quick to dismiss our own hurt and pain and be less forgiving of our own mistakes. This quote, by Jack Kornfield, reminds us to not be so hard on ourselves–to also offer ourselves grace and compassion. Otherwise, our compassion is not whole but rather incomplete.
“God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.”
Metals, degrees, diplomas, and various accolades are nice to have. But what’s not so nice is being so consumed by them that we don’t see the things that really matter. Moreover, it’s not so nice when they come to define who we are–become our identity. This quote, by Elbert Hubbard, reminds us that God doesn’t care about metals, degrees, diplomas, and all other accolades we chase after. Beyond this world, these things are left behind and forgotten. However, the failures and scares that shape us will be a better indication of who we really are than any of our accomplishments. So while we pursue our goals, let’s remember that we…
“If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.”
Imagine a bird picking up a stone and placing it on its wing or balancing it on its beak. The question is: Would it be able to fly? Yes, birds can fly. But clearly not if something is heavy enough to weigh them down. So they know not to fly with something like a stone. Instead, they opt for things like twigs and pebbles. Similarly, we sometimes try to fly while carrying a lot of baggage. These are things that weigh us down emotionally–mentally. This quote, by the writer Toni Morrison, reminds us to be like the birds. If we want to fly, we are going to have to give…
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“There is no such thing as a ‘self-made’ man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.”
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“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
This quotation is from 2 Corinthians 4 verse 16. It’s a great reminder that we are more than our outer and physical selves. We may show visible signs of age, become weaker and slower over time, or become injured. That is part of life; and it shouldn’t make us lose heart. Because while all these things are taking place, there is another part of ourselves that is being renewed each day. It’s a part we don’t see and may not feel; but it’s the essence of who we are–our inner selves–our souls. At the end of the day, the constant renewal of our inner selves is what really matters. So,…
“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.”
This quote, by Morris West, is about always anticipating the worst. But always having a mindset that something’s about to go wrong is like always “waiting for the storm.” In the meantime, we don’t enjoy the sunshine now. So when there is no storm and things are good, let’s not waste the sunshine worrying that something bad is about to happen. In doing so, the things that should make us happy now are either ignored or overshadowed with worry. Let’s do our best to enjoy the sunshine when it comes. And when there is a storm, let’s learn to “dance in the rain.”
