True Strength

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
– Carlos Castaneda

“Much of our energy goes into upholding our importance. If we were capable of losing some of that importance, two extraordinary things would happen to us. One, we would free our energy from trying to maintain the illusory idea of our grandeur; and two, we would provide ourselves with enough energy to catch a glimpse of the actual grandeur of the universe.” — Carlos Castenada

Here is the essence of aparigraha, the yama that invites us to let go of the false self and all its symbols. As long as we are holding onto the thoughts and symbols of the false self, we are blocked from the sunlight of the spirit. — Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”
— Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

The sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.

— Tao Te Ching, Eighty-one

Note to self today:

Our real strength is not in what we have or what we can obtain, but in what we give. Not just to others, but what we give to ourselves as well. Do we give ourselves the time we need to rest, to recover, to regain our strength after a surgery or illness? Or do we charge on, working through our days until there is nothing left of us?

Take time for you today, to become strong. Stop making yourself miserable.