Few are those who err on the side of self-restraint.
:: Confucius

So, we'll go no more a-roving

So, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving
And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

:: George Gordon, Lord Byron

You can't hold a man down without staying down with him.
:: Booker T. Washington

The Teachings of Don Juan

A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war: wide-awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it might never live to regret it.

When a man has fulfilled all four or these requisites - to be wide awake, to have fear, respect, and absolute assurance - there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his actions lose the blundering quality of the acts of a fool. If such a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that.

:: Carlos Casteneda

The gods help them that help themselves.
:: Aesop

Tao Teh Ching

Have done with learning,
And you will have no more vexation.
How great is the difference between "eh" and "o"?
What is the distinction between "good" and "evil"?
Must I fear what others fear?
What abysmal nonsense this is!
All men are joyous and beaming,
As though feasting upon a sacrificial ox,
As though mounting the Spring Terrace;
I alone am placid and give no sign,
Like a babe which has not yet smiled.
I alone am forlorn as one who has no home to return to.
All men have enough and to spare:
I alone appear to possess nothing.
What a fool I am!
What a muddled mind I have!
All men are bright, bright:
I alone am dim, dim.
All men are sharp, sharp:
I alone am mum, mum!
Bland like the ocean,
Aimless like the wafting gale.
All men settle down in their grooves:
I alone am stubborn and remain outside.
But wherein I am most different from others is
In knowing to take sustenance from my Mother!
:: Lao Tzu

Compared to what we ought to be, we are half awake.
:: William James

Every stick has two ends.
:: G.I. Gurdjieff

Cold Mountain

People ask the way to Cold Mountain.
Cold Mountain? There's no road that goes through.
Even in summer the ice doesn't melt;
though the sun comes out, the fog is blinding.
How can you hope to get there by aping me?
Your heart and mine are not alike.
If your heart were the same as mine,
you could journey to the very center!
:: Han-Shan

After all is said and done, more is said than done.
:: Aesop

The Teachings of Don Juan

Power rests on the kind of knowledge that one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless? They will not prepare us for our unavoidable encounter with the unknown.
:: Don Juan

Tao Teh Ching

The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware.
Next comes one whom they love and praise.
Next comes one whom they fear.
Next comes one whom they despise and defy.
When you are lacking in faith,
Others will be unfaithful to you.
The Sage is self-effacing and scanty of words.
When his task is accomplished and things have been completed,
All the people say, "We ourselves have achieved it!"
:: Lao Tzu

To be great is to be misunderstood.
:: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dying is easy, comedy is hard.
:: Edmund Gwenn

Tao Teh Ching

The ancient adepts of the Tao were subtle and flexible, profound and comprehensive.
Their minds were too deep to be fathomed.
Because they are unfathomable,
One can only describe them vaguely by their appearance.
Hesitant like one wading a stream in winter;
Timid like one afraid of his neighbours on all sides;
Cautious and courteous like a guest;
Yielding like ice on the point of melting;
Simple like an uncarved block;
Hollow like a cave;
Confused like a muddy pool;
And yet who else could quietly and gradually evolve from the muddy to the clear?
Who else could slowly but steadily move from the inert to the living?
He who keeps the Tao does not want to be full.
But precisely because he is never full,
He can always remain like a hidden sprout,
And does not rush to early ripening.
:: Lao Tzu

The most difficult thing to endure is the manifestations of others.
:: G.I. Gurdjieff

It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.
:: Henry David Thoreau

Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.
:: William James

Tao Teh Ching

Heaven lasts long, and Earth abides.
What is the secret of their durability?
Is it not because they do not live for themselves
That they can live so long?
Therefore, the Sage wants to remain behind,
But finds himself at the head of others;
Reckons himself out,
But finds himself safe and secure.
Is it not because he is selfless
That his Self is realized?
:: Lao Tzu

I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching.
:: Ralph Waldo Emerson

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.
:: Niels Bohr

Are you an expert?

An expert does not talk about the topic at hand. There is no mention of certifications or awards. They do not rely on diplomas or trophies to impress their audience.

An expert shows you how it's done. They know, more than anyone, that talk is cheap. They are constantly willing to prove themselves. 'Show us what you can do' is the motto by which they live.

Everyone is an expert at something. Spend time honing your expertise, make it a daily task. Those who spend their days working in an area of expertise thrive, those who don't languish.

Tao Teh Ching

The Spirit of the Fountain dies not.
It is called the Mysterious Feminine.
The Doorway of the Mysterious Feminine
Is called the Root of Heaven-and-Earth

Lingering like gossamer, it has only a hint of existence;
And yet when you draw upon it, it is inexhaustible.

:: Lao Tzu

A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.
:: George Santayana

Tao Teh Ching

The Tao is like an empty bowl,
Which in being used can never be filled up,
Fathomless, it seems to be the origin of all things.
It blunts all sharp edges,
It unties all tangles,
It harmonizes all lights,
It unites the world into one whole.
Hidden in the deeps,
Yet it seems to exist forever.
I do not know whose child it is;
It seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father of things.
:: Lao Tzu