“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
Sadness, frustration, hardship, and loss are almost unavoidable in life. Therefore, praying for an easy life would be an unrealistic expectation. There’s no such thing as a life free of these conditions no matter your geographic location, socioeconomic status, age, or piety. The truth is, there are always going to be some negatives intermixed with the positives. This is why, as suggested in this Bruce Lee quote, we should pray for strength for when we do fall on hard times rather than pray that we never do at all. There’s no such thing as a life free of sadness, frustration, hardship, and loss. However, having the strength to surmount these…
“When we try to juggle everything, we can’t enjoy anything.”
Every minimalism sales pitch has a common theme: Less means more. With less stuff, we can enjoy more space and time for what really matters. But minimalism almost always refers to cutting back on physical items that we can see and touch. However, the minimalist concept of less means more can also apply to certain non-physical things. This quote, from the blog bemorewithless by Courtney Carver, reminds us that, sometimes, the more there is for us to juggle, the harder it is to enjoy what’s there. “When we try to juggle everything, we can’t enjoy anything.” Coincidentally, Carver specializes in minimalism, and her book Project 333, is about minimalism particularly…
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“Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday. Every day is a fresh start. Every morning we wake up is the first day of the rest of our life.”
“To make a change, you need to be aware and acknowledge that something isn’t working first.”
Increasing Faith with Patience, and Increasing Patience with Faith
“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.”
Without adjusting the sails on a sailboat, the boat would go wherever the wind takes it. So to get where it needs to go, the sails likely need to be adjusted from time to time–not the wind. Similarly, in life, there are some things we just cannot change. Like the wind. However, we try so hard to change them. But we can either let those things direct our life, or we can put up and adjust our sails. This anonymous quote reminds us to recognize the things we cannot change. Instead of exhausting our energy trying to direct those winds, we can focus on the things we do have control…
“Take time to recharge your batteries. It’s hard to see where you’re going when your lights are dim”
Imagine you’re trecking through a long, deep, and dark cave with only a flashlight to guide you through. The flashlight begins to grow dim from overuse. Suddenly, the way forward becomes more difficult, more strained, and nearly impossible. Without stopping to recharge or replace the batteries in your flashlight, you won’t see enough to know where you’re going. You might get lost, go backward, or get stuck. This quote, by Robert H. Connelly, reminds us that we need to recharge our batteries in life. We need to make sure we are getting sufficient rest. When our lights are dim, physically and mentally, we’re more prone to getting lost, going backward,…
“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.”
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“How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.”
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
This quote is from Matthew 6 verse 34. It’s part of a longer passage about worry that begins at verse 25. In the longer passage, it talks about worrying about acquiring material possessions such as food and shelter. It compares our worry about these things to birds, who also need these things to survive but are much more carefree. However, they manage to acquire these necessities each day. Their creator, God, knows what they need and makes sure those things are provided to them. Yes, we’re not birds, we’re humans. And unlike the birds, we have bills to pay and various financial constraints and obligations, especially in today’s world. But…
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
This quote, from Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, reminds us to breath easy when there are more questions than answers. Some seasons in life are full of questions; and that’s natural. For example, what are we going to do with our life or exactly how are we going to accomplish our goals? What ever our questions, it’s reassuring to know that some seasons in life are just uncertain–full of questions. Meanwhile, other seasons are full of answers. During those that give us answers, we’re more self-assured, know exactly what we want to do, and feel like we’re one-hundred percent on the right track. If you’re in…
This Too Shall Pass
“This Too Shall Pass” is an adage that is both universal and timeless. So much so that it’s somewhat uncertain when and where it comes from. It has appeared in various forms and translations throughout different cultures and centuries. It has appeared in Jewish folklore about the bible’s King Solomon as well as in 13th-century Persian literature (among other origins). The main idea in the saying is that nothing in the human condition lasts forever. Anything that happens, good or bad, will one day pass. This can be both humbling and consoling. When life feels arduous or your situation feels unbearable, it is rather consoling to know that “this too…
Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid of standing still.
It’s easy to get disappointed that we haven’t achieved our goals fast enough. Or perhaps, we’re so overwhelmed by what it’ll take to get there that we don’t start or we don’t continue. But there’s a famous saying that goes: “Slow and steady wins the race.” Well, what’s even slower than slow is not moving at all–standing still. In which case, there’s no chance of ever crossing the finish line. So, it’s better to move slowly than not at all; and this Japanese proverb is about the value in progress, however big or small.
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“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
“Dreams don’t have to just be dreams. You can make it a reality; if you just keep pushing and keep trying, then eventually you’ll reach your goal. And if that takes a few years, then that’s great, but if it takes 10 or 20, then that’s part of the process.”
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Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.
This quote, by Charles Spurgeon, is a great reminder that the time we spend worrying about tomorrow doesn’t really do anything to make tomorrow any better. Instead, it robs us of our strength and enjoyment of today. It robs us of our joy, passion, and motivation; making us more prone to fatigue, procrastination, and even depression. So, instead of ruining today by worrying about tomorrow, seek to find hope. But more importantly, seek to find faith, in which hope can be firmly grounded. Read The Serenity Prayer.
