#782 Remain quiet

Balance is the perfect state of still water. Let that be our model. It remains quiet within and is not disturbed on the surface.  ~ Confucius 

- How still is your 'water'?
- How quiet are you within?
- How can you cultivate more balance in your life?

#781 More authenticity

Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thyself.   ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention.  ~ Richard Moss

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.  ~ Mother Teresa 

- How often do you substitute the material for the true gift?
- How attentive are you when conversing with people?
- How can you try to achieve more authenticity in your relationships? 
 

#780 A renaissance of wonder

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.  ~ Albert Einstein

As knowledge increases, wonder deepens.  ~ Charles Morgan
 
We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic. ~ E. Merrill Root

- When did you last stand rapt in awe and wonder?
- When has your knowledge of something enhanced your wonder?
- How can you cultivate a deeper sense of wonder and appreciation in your life?

#779 The experience of being alive

I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. ~ Joseph Campbell

- How 'alive' are you in your daily life?
- What are the chief qualities of being alive?
- How can your vitality help to provide you with meaning?

#778 A book for each person

There is not one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person.  ~ Anais Nin

- What makes you unique?
- What significant chapters have you contributed to your book?
- What meaning for your life have you begun to assimilate?

#777 Life is complex

Abandon the urge to simplify everything, to look for formulas and easy answers, and to begin to think multidimensionally, to glory in the mystery and paradoxes of life, not to be dismayed by the multitude of causes and consequences that are inherent in each experience — to appreciate the fact that life is complex.   ~ M. Scott Peck
 
- For what issues, aspects of life are you tempted to simplify and to look for easy answers?
- What are some of the mysteries and paradoxes of life?
- What wondrous complexities could you appreciate more?

#776 The combination for success

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.  ~ Napoleon Hill

- How patient and persistent are you?
- How much of a work ethic do you have?
- What other quality would you suggest is a necessity for success?

#775 Finding meaning

The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.  ~ Mitch Albom

Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.  ~ Elie Wiesel

- To what extent do you devote yourself to others?
- What gives your life purpose and meaning?
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of passivity and indifference?

#774 Unconditional acceptance

Acceptance is such an important commodity; some have called it "the first law of personal growth."   ~ Peter McWilliams

Living apart and at peace with myself, I came to realize more vividly the meaning of the doctrine of acceptance. To refrain from giving advice, to refrain from meddling in the affairs of others, to refrain, even though the motives be the highest, from tampering with another's way of life - so simple, yet so difficult for an active spirit. Hands off!    ~ Henry Miller
 
Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.  ~ Arthur Rubinstein

- How hard is it for you not to give advice, not to judge, not to tamper?
- To what extent have you embraced the formula for life of unconditional acceptance?
- What are some benefits of accepting the conditions and events of life with which you are confronted?

#773 Love illuminates

Hatred paralyses life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.  ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 

- How much room do you leave in your life for hate?
- What lessons has hatred taught you?
- How can you resolve to practice more love which releases, harmonizes, and illuminates?

#772 Preserved by quotes

The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotations.  ~ Isaac D'Israeli

- (This quote made be chuckle.  I tend to like quotations.) To what extent do you like good quotes?
- What types of experiences seem to be documented well with good quotes?
- What wisdom have you gained through select quotes?

#771 Eliminate non-essentials

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.  ~ Lin Yutang

- How efficient are you in getting things done?
- What may be noble about leaving some things undone?
- What are several non-essentials in your life which could be eliminated?

#770 The only real counselor

Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a part of the moral tissue.  ~ Edith Wharton

- What personal experiences do you value?
- How have these experiences helped to shape your moral fabric?
- Why do some people seem to be wiser than others?

#769 Coming to terms with life

One's first step in wisdom is to question everything - and one's last is to come to terms with everything.  ~ Georg C. Lichtenberg

- What is there about life to question?
- What answers have you reached through your inquisitive perspective?
- How difficult is it for you to come to terms with the diverse elements of life? 

#768 Gaining wisdom

By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.  ~ Confucius

- What conclusions have you reached about life through private reflection?
- What have you learned about life by observing and imitating the actions of others?
- What wisdom have you gained through challenging experiences?

#767 Intellect and emotions

I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner. ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

A woman's life is a history of the affections. ~ Washington Irving

A woman's life revolves in curves of emotions. It is upon lines of intellect that a man's life progresses. ~ Oscar Wilde

There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.  ~ Washington Irving

Whatever a woman's reason may say, her feelings tell her the truth.  ~ Stefan Zweig 

- To what extent do you think that men and women think differently?
- Which do you prefer to help you navigate through life: emotions or intellect?
- How can you try to cultivate a balance between the two?

#766 Long experience

I swim across a sea of quotes, splashing in the words and riding the waves of wisdom. ~Terri Guillemets

Proverbs are potted wisdom.  ~ Charles Buxton

Short sentences drawn from long experience.  ~ Miguel de Cervantes

In phrases as brief as a breath worldly wisdom concentrates.  ~ Willis Goth Regier 

- What proverbs, maxims have you valued?
- What brief quotes have you cherished?
- What topics would you like to explore for memorable quotes?

#765 Sowing Anew

In the chequered area of human experience the seasons are all mingled as in the golden age: fruit and blossom hang together; in the same moment the sickle is reaping and the seed is sprinkled; one tends the green cluster and another treads the wine-press. Nay, in each of our lives harvest and spring-time are continually one, until Death himself gathers us and sows us anew in his invisible fields.   ~ George Eliot

- To what extent do you see your life as a golden age?
- How diverse have been your experiences?
- How do you cultivate a personal peace?

#764 Be still and wait

A lively understandable spirit
Once entertained you.
It will come again.
Be still.
Wait.  ~ Theodore Roethke

- How often have you been blessed with an understandable spirit?
- How do you cope when it departs?
- How patient are you for it to return?

#763 Cultivating the spirit

The spirit is life.  The mind is the builder.  The physical is the result.  ~ Edgar Cayce
 
- How healthy is your spirit?
- How can you cultivate it?
- What growth may result and into what tangible manifestations?

#762 Open to Change

Keep your mind open to change all the time.  Welcome it.  Court it.  It is only by examining and reexamining your opinions and ideas that you can progress.  ~ Dale Carnegie

- How open are you to change?
- Why can it be difficult?
- What are some of your opinions and ideas which may need reexamination?

#761 Positive energies

I believe in energies. Good energy has served me well. Being fair with others, compassionate towards them, remaining humble, and making a difference to someone are just a few of the things that I have seen create good energy. Beautiful things. Human things. I do my best to surround myself with these types of things, to generate an atmosphere thick with such energy. It has kept me safe in many situations.  ~ Ashly Lorenzana

- How aware are you of the positive and negative energies in your life?
- How do you try to contribute positively in your daily life?

#760 Good over Evil

Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil. ~ Walt Disney

- What good things have you witnessed in your community?

- What good portrayals have you seen in the mass media?

- What would you define as the shadows which lurk in life?

- How do you convey the important lesson to children about good over evil?

#759 Stronger than...

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.  ~ Robert Fulghum

- Which of the statements above surprises you?
- Which of the statements do you agree with the most?
- What several bits of wisdom here can you reflect on today?

#758 An inner resource

Imagination is an inner resource. That's why it takes stopping, slowing, silencing, reassuring, embracing to allow it to speak.  ~ Suzanne Beth Stinnett

- Which tactics do you like in the author's list?
- What several other strategies would you add?
- To what area would you like to direct your inner resource in the near future?

#757 Make Visible

Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.  ~Robert Bresson

-For what do many people yearn?
-When have you seen something illuminated?
-What valuable thing, action, or idea could you make visible?

Announcing Several Self Published Books

Volumes #1 and #2 of 365 Quote Quest are now available in print and in digital format for Kindle.  These books are a product of several years of posts in which I provide a quotation and offer about three questions to encourage reflection and enrichment.

For example entry #537 is entitled 'Be thyself':

Resolve to be thyself: and know, that he
Who finds himself, loses his misery. ~ Matthew Arnold

- How much do you try to be yourself?
- To what extent do you agree with Arnold that being yourself leads to greater happiness?

- What are other sources of happiness for yourself?

Another sample entry which offers an interesting juxtaposition with the above is #702, 'Changing yourself.'

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. ~Leo Tolstoy
 
- What changes would you like to make to the world?
- To what extent do you think yourself an exemplary person?
- Heeding Tolstoy's advice, what could you begin changing about yourself?

I consider each of the 730 entries a meditation nugget.

You may purchase Volume #1 of  the book here and the Kindle version here.

Volume #2 of the book, may be purchased here and the Kindle version here.

I have made the books available at cost.

Thank you for your readership here and at quoteflections, and for any positive recommendations to others you may want to provide.

For those who may be interested, I self published the books at Createspace which provides distribution through Amazon.  Also convenient links are provided so that I could publish them as e books through Kindle Direct Publishing.

#756 Creativity

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.  ~Alan Alda

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.  ~Mary Lou Cook

- When have you experienced the excitement of creativity?
- How can you best nurture it?
- What hobby(ies) enable you to enjoy and cultivate the feeling?

#755 Flickering Will

Don't let your will roar when your power only whispers.  ~ Thomas Fuller

-How much power do you have over yourself, others?
-What are some of your convictions, desires?
-When is the opportune time to let some of your will flicker?

#754 Grow up

Is life so wretched? Isn't it rather your hands which are too small, your vision which is muddled? You are the one who must grow up. ~ Dag Hammarskjold

- How tempted are you to complain about life?
- How might larger hands contribute to an improved outlook?
- What steps can you take to clarify your vision, philosophy of life?

#753 Reaching out

You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.  ~ H. L. Mencken

- Where lies your growth?
- Where do you experience enrichment?
- How can you reach out?

#752 For all that shall be

For all that has been — Thanks. For all that shall be — Yes.  ~  Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish diplomat, UN Secretary-General, winner of Nobel Peace Prize. (1905-1961 who died in a plane crash en route to ceasefire negotiations.)

- How much gratitude do you have for all that has transpired in your life?
- How positive are you with respect to your future days?
- What 'Yeses' can you anticipate?

#751 Listen within

The more faithfully you listen to the voices within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside.  ~ Dag Hammarskjold

- How faithfully do you listen to the voices within you?
- What causes possible dissonance/static for you?
- How well do you hear what is sounding outside and around you?