“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore
"For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the …
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore
"For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self."
~ Thomas Merton
“Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am. That I will never fulfill my obligation to surpass myself unless I first accept myself, and if I accept myself fully in the right way, I will already have surpassed myself.”
~ Thomas Merton
Tao Te Ching verse 7:
"The Tao of Heaven is eternal
and the Earth abides.
What is the secret of their durability?
It is because they do not live for themselves.
Therefore, the Sage puts herself last;
but finds herself up ahead.
She is detached from all things;
but finds herself safe and secure.
Because she remains selfless
her Self is realized."
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”
~ Thomas Merton
“We are gifted the gift of gifting the gifts we’ve been gifted.” ~ Brother Owl
"By caring about the happiness of others, we find our own." ~ Plato
“I will not serve Allah like a laborer, in expectation of my wages. He does not refuse sustenance to the one who speaks ill of Him. How then could He refuse sustenance to the one whose soul is over flowing with love for Him?”
~ Rabia al Basri
“We can do no great things,
only small things with great love.”
~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta
“My chief care should not be to find pleasure or success, health or life or money or rest or even things like virtue and wisdom – still less their opposites, pain, failure, sickness, death. But in all that happens, my one desire and my one joy should be to know: “Here is the thing that God has willed for me. In this His love is found, and in accepting this I can give back His love to Him and give myself with it to Him. For in giving myself I shall find Him and He is life everlasting.” ~ Thomas Merton
“A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.” ~Thomas Merton
“The best way to lose yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
"In all things, be fully present, be fully love." ~ Brother Owl
“Wisdom is knowing I am nothing, Love is knowing I am everything and between the two my life moves.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
“Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world. Your own Self realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” ~ Ramana Maharshi
