Those who believe in themselves, and trust in the moment, are those who find life most enjoyable. They have learned that the past is a place to store memories, not regrets; that the future should be full of promise, not apprehension. And the present is all we need.
— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 266
There is no story without conflict, I tell would-be story writers. Universal truth is ratified, in literature as in life, not through a character’s mere mindless affirmations of it but through the lifelong study that comes from doubting and challenging and searching and returning to the problem again and again.
— Patty Kirk, Confessions of an Amateur Believer, p. 73
Acknowledging your gifts and talents fills you with a sense of self-esteem — so you are not consumed by the need for approval to boost your reputation. It allows you to own your personal power and not give it away to others. When you have good self-esteem — which you develop by making commitments to yourself that you keep, valuing your personal code of honor, owning your gifts and talents, and letting go of false humility — you do not look for attention or validation from others….
The false modesty of ignoring or downplaying your gifts and talents is a slap in God’s face. You received a gift, yet will not own it.
— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 240-241
Whenever you forget to nurture and care for yourself because it feels selfish, your level of resentment will rise….
You must take personal responsibility for your level of self-care — that means not blaming others because you are stuck cleaning the garage while your husband is off playing golf. Why are you not doing what you want to be doing?…
Remember to look for the subtle ways you forget to honor yourself. If you come last in your life, your level of resentment will be high.
— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 234-235
The best changes occur in our lives when we’re nourishing and celebrating who we already are, when we’re giving ourselves room to be and opportunities to flourish.
— Lisa Sarasohn, The Woman’s Belly Book, p. 9
Whenever we do anything well, when we do our best, embracing an activity wholeheartedly, we are satisfied and energized. Tucking a child into bed and saying a prayer after reading a story is a small act of grace with lasting benefits. Rituals can never be rushed or be skipped. The joy is in our instantaneous recognition of miraculous present moments.
Don’t plan it. Live it.
— Alexandra Stoddard, Choosing Happiness, p. 16
Lovers always focus away from negativity, to beauty, goodness, and joy. Though they are aware of the dark side of life, they avoid gravitating to it. Obsession with what is wrong with the world assures our blindness to what is good and right. On the other hand, solutions become more visible in the light of possibilities.
Beauty and goodness are successful forces against ugliness and evil. Negative people look for (and always find) confirmation for the negative, just as positive people look for and find the lightness of being. Both exist. Both are real and are always with us. The difference is as basic as a decision, and as simple as opening our eyes.
— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 225
To err is human, to forgive is a choice.
The third reason people have difficulty changing a tribal belief is one of the saddest but most firmly held beliefs I have encountered: Mistakes, transgressions, or sins are not forgivable.…
The worst part about this tribal belief is that because you think you can never be forgiven, you sever your relationship with God or your Higher Power and cut yourself off from receiving divine guidance and recognizing synchronicity at work in your life.
— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 228
Waiting is part of ordinary time. We discover God in our waiting: waiting in checkout lines, waiting for the telephone to ring, waiting for graduation, waiting for a promotion, waiting to retire, waiting to die. The waiting itself becomes prayer as we give our waiting to God. In waiting we begin to get in touch with the rhythms of life — stillness and action, listening and decision. They are the rhythms of God. It is in the everyday and the commonplace that we learn patience, acceptance, and contentment.
— Richard J. Foster, Prayer, p. 174
Our vocation is an asset to prayer because our work becomes prayer. It is prayer in action. The artist, the novelist, the surgeon, the plumber, the secretary, the lawyer, the homemaker, the farmer, the teacher — all are praying by offering their work up to God….
We do not need to have good feelings or a warm glow in order to do work for the glory of God. All good work is pleasing to the Father. Even the jobs that seem meaningless and mindless to us are highly valued in the order of the kingdom of God. God values the ordinary. If, for the glory of God, you are putting an endless supply of nuts on an endless line of bolts, your work is rising up as a sweet-smelling offering to the throne of God. He is pleased with your labor.
— Richard J. Foster, Prayer, p. 171-173