One of the greatest cause of unhappiness -
perhaps even the only cause of unhappiness - is comparison.
I remember as a young child hearing my mother say,
"Comparisons are odious."
That is one of the oldest sayings in the English language,
and one of the most important.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others.
He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
- The Buddha
Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another,
but let him work diligently and build one for himself,
thus by example assuring that his own
shall be safe from violence when built.
- Abraham Lincoln
Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion
is the truest to every man even if it stands low
in the scales of philosophical comparison.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Love is the total absence of fear.
Love asks no questions.
Its natural state is one of extension and expansion,
not comparison and measurement.
- Gerald Jampolsky
The ego lives by comparisons...
The ego cannot survive without judgment.
- A Course in Miracles
Comparisons are odious.
- old English Proverb
The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.
- Leonardo da Vinci
The man who can't dance thinks the band is no good.
- Polish Proverb
Real excellence and humility are
not incompatible one with the other,
on the contrary they are twin sisters.
- Jean Baptiste Lacordaire
I'm so glad I never feel important, it does complicate life!
- Eleanor Roosevelt
With courage, you will dare to take risks,
have the strength to be compassionate,
and the wisdom to be humble.
Courage is the foundation of integrity.
- Keshavan Nair
The Principal Causes of Our Suffering
are Our Expectations and Our Assumptions.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The man with insight enough to admit his limitations
comes nearest to perfection.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The higher the sun rises, the less shadow it casts;
even so, the greater is the goodness, the less it covets praise;
yet cannot avoid its rewards in honors.
- Lao Tzu
We have to stop and be humble enough to understand
that there is something called mystery.
- Paulo Coelho
A great man is always willing to be little.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Apology is only egotism wrong side out.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
It is impossible to begin to learn
that which one thinks one already knows.
- Epictetus
Misery nourishes your ego -
that's why you see so many miserable people in the world.
The basic, central point is the ego.
- Osho
Happiness blooms
in the presence of self-respect
and the absence of ego.
Love yourself.
Love everyone around you.
Love everyone in the whole world.
Know that your own life is of infinite importance,
as is every other life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Happiness blooms
in the presence of self-respect,
and the absence of ego.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The man who promises everything, is sure to fulfill nothing,
and everyone who promises too much is in danger of
using evil means in order to carry out his promises,
and is already on the road to perdition.
- Carl Jung
The man who is awakened, lives in such a way
that he leaves no footprints.
- Osho quoting The Buddha
When you argue with reality,
you lose - but only always.
- Byron Katie
You grow up the day you have
your first real laugh - at yourself.
- Ethel Barrymore
The presence of those seeking the truth
is infinitely to be preferred
to the presence of those who think they've found it.
- Terry Pratchett
"Pride" is one of those really crazy words,
and such a double-edged sword -
Self-Worth on one edge, and Ego on the other.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
INTENT:
We hold the power to make things happen
through our intent -
to the extent that we use our intention
with compassion and without ego.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
If you have to have it, it's ego.
If you have to not have it, it's ego.
Hold life lightly and it will deliver what you need
and release what you don't.
- Alan Cohen
The good news is that you aren't
as important as you thought you were.
Relax. The weight of the world
is not on your shoulders.
Take a day off.
Go for a long silent walk in the woods.
The world will still be there tomorrow -
as good and as bad as ever.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
During life, none of us is 100% open to Spirit -
we have too much ego to do that.
Only at death do we give up our ego and completely open to Spirit.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
"Pride" is such a double-edged sword -
Self-Worth on one edge and Ego on the other.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Pride comes in two flavors -
be careful which you choose -
choose honor, not ego.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Pride comes in two flavors -
choose honor, not ego.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Self denial is an indulgence to the ego.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Looking at a sunset, just for a second
you forget your separateness:
you are the sunset.
That is the moment when you feel the beauty of it.
But the moment you say that it is a beautiful sunset,
you are no longer feeling it;
you have come back to your separate,
enclosed entity of the ego.
Now the mind is speaking.
- Osho
Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul.
- Henry Van Dyke
The soul loves to meditate,
for in contact with the Spirit lies its greatest joy.
If, then you experience mental resistance during meditation,
remember that reluctance to meditate comes from the ego;
it doesn't belong to the soul.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
Each of us is of infinite value,
and each of us has the ability to make
a profound difference in the lives we touch.
We leave our most profoundly positive impact
on those around us by the nature of our lives
and the example we set -
not by how busy we are,
or how important we believe we are.
Setting an example of being loving, relaxed and joyful,
regardless of external circumstances,
is a great legacy for our family and for the world.
Self importance - ego - is not a path to happiness.
Focusing one's whole life on responsibilities,
without taking time for self-renewal and play,
abandons the joy and the true value of life.
I want my tombstone to read, "Inspired others,"
rather than, "Never missed a day at the office."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The greatest mistake you can make in life
is to be continually fearing you will make one.
- Elbert Hubbard
Know that the greatest fear is fear of the unknown.
Seek to meet the unknown with courage and a sense of adventure.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Credulity - willingness to accept
unsupported statements without demanding proof -
is the greatest ally of the dictator and the demagogue.
- Arthur C. Clarke
One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.
- Walter Bagehot
I consider my greatest accomplishment to be lifelong celibacy.
- Isaac Newton
(discoverer of the laws of gravitation and motion,
famous mathematician, and perhaps the greatest scientist ever)
The greatest wealth is health.
- Virgil
Your greatest gift to your family and friends is yourself -
your relaxed, happy, and fully-present self.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The greatest lovers are like twin blooms,
each reflecting the passion and the glory of the other.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Death is not the greatest loss in life.
The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.
- Norman Cousins
Satisfaction of one's curiosity
is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.
- Linus Pauling
The greatest obstacle to a Joyful Life
is your "story" about your life.
Your story is filled with perceives needs and obligations.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity.
- Bodhidharma
Action is our greatest weapon against fear.
Left to molder, fear grows upon itself,
but in the face of action,
fear is left in the dust.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
During the first period of a man's life
the greatest danger is not to take the risk.
- Soren Kierkegaard
The greatest weapon against stress
is our ability to choose one thought over another.
- William James
The secret of making dreams come true
can be summarized in four C's.
They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy;
and the greatest of these is Confidence.
- Walt Disney
One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.
- Mother Teresa
The greatest virtue of man is perhaps curiosity.
- Anatole France
The greatest and most important problems of life
are all fundamentally insoluble.
They can never be solved but only outgrown.
- Carl Jung
My greatest service to others is living happily,
and radiating happiness and joy to those around me.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Your greatest gift to others is to be happy
and to radiate your happiness to the entire world.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
A thankful heart is the greatest virtue.
- Cicero
Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.
- Socrates
The greatest compliment that was ever paid me
was when one asked me what I thought,
and attended to my answer.
- Henry David Thoreau
Health is the greatest possession.
Contentment is the greatest treasure.
Confidence is the greatest friend.
Non-being is the greatest joy.
- Lao Tzu
The greatest way to live with honor in this world
is to be what we pretend to be.
- Socrates
Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.
- Confucius
Know that the greatest gift you can give the world is your happiness.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.
- Mark Twain
Be Your Own Personal Greatest Hero.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The grand aim of all science is to cover
the greatest number of empirical facts
by logical deduction from
the smallest number of hypotheses or axioms.
- Albert Einstein
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May the world be kind to you,
and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
All materials & writings are copyright © Jonathan Lockwood Huie, except for quotes and other specifically identified material which belong to their respective copyright holders if applicable.