Aphorisms and Observations – Page 14

Happiness and Contentment

He who is content with his lot, is happy a lot, much more than those who are not. (A sorry sing-song stab at a saying?)

Pearls before Swine

Beware of casting them. Beware also of the conceit that one has them to cast.

Prayer

Because we are spiritual beings, we pray. Because we cannot be lamps unto ourselves, we need to.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thomas Merton

An activist judge wants to play the legislator. An activist monk wants to play the worldling. Neither quite understands the nature of his 'job.'

He who regularly lowers himself to the level of his companions for the sake of their acceptance is likely to underestimate the damage to his height. He will not be able to elevate them, but they can easily bring him down.

Suicide as Premature Jailbreak

Man up, and serve your time in the penal colony of the world. You'll die soon enough.

The Lazy, the Ambitious, and the Wise

The lazy do not work. The ambitious work hard — but for their own enhancement and advancement. The sage works, but without ambition, with detachment from the fruits of action.

Be Satisfied

Be satisfied with what you have, but not via the comparative thought, "I have more than them."

People Are What They Are

If the universe accepts them, why shouldn't I?

Happiness

The happy are those who do not allow themselves to be much affected, and certainly not disturbed, by the judgments and expectations of others. How much validation by others do you need? The less you need, the more mature you are.

‘Liberals,’ Graffiti, and Art

A 'liberal' is someone who has no problem with the defacing of public and private property with graffiti, which he considers 'art,' while holding that true art is 'racist.'