I was neurotic for years. I was anxious and depressed and selfish. Everyone kept telling me to change. I resented them and I agreed with them, and I wanted to change, but simply couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. Then one day someone said to me, Don't change. I love you just as you are. Those words were music to my ears: Don't change, Don't change. Don't change . . . I love you as you are. I relaxed. I came alive. And suddenly I changed!
Anthony de MelloTo fight evil with activity is like fighting darkness with one's hands. So what you need is light, not fit.
Anthony de MelloHappiness is not something you acquire; love is not something you produce; love is not something you have; love is something that has you.
Anthony de MelloThe seeker says, "I do not know." That takes honesty. The master says, "I do not know." That takes a mystic's mind that knows things through non-knowing. The disciple says, "I know." That takes ignorance, in the form of borrowed knowledge.
Anthony de MelloPeople who want a cure, provided they can have it without pain, are like those who favour progress, provided they can have it without change.
Anthony de MelloTake away human beings from this planet and life would go on, nature would go on in all its loveliness and violence. Where would the problem be? No problem. You created the problem. You are the problem. You identified with "me" and that is the problem. The feeling is in you, not in reality.
Anthony de Mello