The young nurse closes her story, saying, "I keep thinking about her... It occurred to me that I owe her an awful lot. Except for Eileen, I might never have know what it's like to give myself to someone who can't give back."
Lessons from a young nurse
Rebecca Manley Pippert (From Out of the Saltshaker & Into the World)
The more we understand our own minds, the more we understand everyone else. We increasingly feel the commonality of our human condition, of what creates suffering and how we can be free. Our practice also benefits others through the transformation of how we are in the world. If we’re more accepting, more peaceful, less judgmental, less selfish, then the whole world is that much more loving and peaceful, that much less judgmental and selfish. Our mind-body is a vibrating, resonating energy system. Of necessity, how we are affects everyone around us. On a boat in the middle of a great storm, one wise, calm person can bring everyone to safety. The world is like that boat, tossed by the storms of greed and hatred and fear. Can we be one of those people who help to keep it safe?
Ryan Holiday, The 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that's in your power. Don't look around to see if people will know about it. Don't await the perfection of Plato's Republic, but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as small thing. — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.29.(4)
There once was a young boy with a very bad temper. The boy's father wanted to teach him a lesson, so he gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail into their wooden fence.
