Don't demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them do. Accept events as they actually happen. That way, peace is possible.

Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress.

Never say about anything, "I have lost it," but only "I have given it back." Is your child dead? It has been given back. Is your wife dead? She has been returned.

Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control.

Watch yourself as you go about your daily business and later reflect on what you saw, trying to identify the sources of distress in your life and thinking about how to avoid that distress.

If I was a nightingale I would sing like a nightingale; if a swan, like a swan. But since I am a rational creature my role is to praise God.

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.