I am always doing things I can’t do, that’s how I get to do them.
— Pablo Picasso
By simply sitting still on the spot, your life can become workable and even wonderful. You realize that you are capable of sitting like a king or queen on a throne. The regalness of that situation shows you the dignity that comes from being still and simple.
— Chogyam Trungpa
The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.
— Paul Tillich
It is flat-out strange that something – that anything – is happening at all. There was nothing, then a Big Bang, then here we all are. This is extremely weird.
— Ken Wilber
the man with the soul of the wolf / know the self-restraint / of the wolf / aimless executions and slaughterings / and not the work of wolves and eagles / but the work of hysterical sheep.
— Gary Snyder
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.
— Martha Graham
You are your own reality. You create it; you carry it with you; and you project it onto everything and everyone you encounter. Everything you see on the outside is really a projection of your own mind. Everyone is a mirror of yourself, your own thinking coming back to you.
— Deepak Chopra
The study of Zen is like drilling wood to make fire: the wisest course is to forge ahead without stopping.
— Master Hakuin
Trusting that ‘the universe will take care of you’ does not mean that you stay in bed all day. The universe will take care of you by making you get up and tend to your business. The universe unfolds in an optimal way, and part of that unfoldment happens through you and your actions.
— A.H. Almaas