We can let the circumstances of life harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have that choice. Don’t let life harden your heart.
It is not enough to have a philosophy of life, but one must act. Action, not words are important, but you must have purpose. You need short- and long-term goals. Short term can be as simple as walking everyday, long term could be hiking the Westcoast trail; create your own.
If you have a benevolent heart, you will nourish your community without trying to. Be simple and generous, do work you enjoy, don’t try to control, don’t compare, don’t compete, be content with just being who you are; this way everybody will respect you.
Superior people prepare “weapons” to guard against the unexpected. “Weapons” means the tools of wisdom, the work of silent operation of spiritual awareness. It is still necessary to dissolve the influences of personal history before nature and life can be stabilized.
Quote: In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.