meditation vs prayer = listening vs talking

If you're going to answer the call and you're going to transform and you're going to change, get ready. It is not a day at the beach.

I am determined to make the most of this life that I have, damn it - it's that kind of stubbornness I think we all need more of.

Kalos Kai Agathos, the singular balance of the good and the beautiful.

Then again, you cannot stop the flood of desire as it moves through the world, inappropriate though it may sometimes be. It is the prerogative of all humans to make ludicrous choices, to fall in love with the most unlikely of partners, and to set themselves up for the most predicatable of calamities.

Your fear is just as boring as mine is. Everyone's got the same one. It is not precious. It is not special. It is not singular to you. It's just the one we all got wired with when we came in. Focus on your unique qualities that deserve to be celebrated and put fear back in its place. Don't listen to it. Onward.

Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus: 'You bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not.