Maktub
She came to my table at the monastery, then darted away. Came back closer. Went away again. Then came back even closer. The most beautiful squirrel I had ever seen, mustering up the courage each time.
I have met many squirrels in my life, but the one who lived out its desire by trying to steal food from me is the one I love the most.
“If you die before you die, then you won’t die when you die.”
(Carved over the doorway of St. Paul's Monastery)
“We have two lives. The second begins when we realize we only have one.”
— Confucius
“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.”
— Pablo Picasso
“A man who seeks only the light, while shirking his responsibilities, will never find illumination. And one who keeps his eyes fixed upon the sun ends up blind.”
— Paulo Coelho
Someone once yelled at me in front of everyone: “You have no idea what it’s like to be dumb.”
I stood there. And then I realized how little I know.
“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”
— Socrates
“When I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
— Carl Rogers
“Stop thinking, and end your problems.”
— Lao Tzu
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else, but you are the one who gets burned.”
— Buddha
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
— Oprah Winfrey
I listen to songs and mantras every day. One morning, something spoke to me in the quiet.
Why don’t you sing with the songs?
I replied: I am not blessed with a beautiful voice.
God is not mad at you.
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?”
— Jesus
“You have to let go of what you want in order to get it.”
— Abraham Hicks
She came back again, stood still for a photograph. She didn’t get the food, but she kept melting my heart anyway.
She never read any of the books or sat with any of these teachers. That, is a relief.
Maktub. It is written.