“Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and very possibly we may find that we have caught happiness without dreaming of it.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864), writer, born on this day

“Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”

Franz Kafka (1883 – 1924), writer, born on this day

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”

Hermann Hesse (1877 – 1962), novelist, born on this day

“What you do for yourself, any gesture of kindness, any gesture of gentleness, any gesture of honesty and clear seeing toward yourself, will affect how you experience your world. In fact, it will transform how you experience the world. What you do for yourself, you’re doing for others, and what you do for others, you’re doing for yourself.”

Pema Chodron

“We give thanks for this season of roses and swifts,
of journeys and long, slow dusks,
of cool breezes and welcome showers,

holding on to this precious moment lightly,
and letting it go like a breath,
gently floating into pixels of light.”

Caroline Blair, Kensington Unitarian, died 2015, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

From The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry (1900 – 1944), born on this day

“Creativity does not belong exclusively to professional artists and geniuses; it is the birthright of every single human being. Creativity is our common heritage. You don’t need to quit your job and move to Paris in order to lay claim to this heritage – all you have to do is clear some space in your life for whimsy, invention, sensory pleasure, and play. Most of all, you have to learn how to follow your curiosity more than your fear.”

Elizabeth Gilbert

“’What I believe’ is a process rather than a finality. Finalities are for gods and governments, not for the human intellect.”

Emma Goldman (1869 – 1940), anarchist publisher, born on this day

“Exclusion is always dangerous. Inclusion is the only safety if we are to have a peaceful world.”

Pearl S. Buck (1892 – 1973) , novelist, humanitarian and social activist, born on this day

“Understanding is the substance out of which we fabricate compassion. What kind of understanding am I talking about? It’s the understanding that the other person suffers, too. When we suffer, we tend to believe that we’re the victims of other people, that we’re the only ones who suffer. That isn’t true – the other person also suffers. They have their difficulties, their fears, and their worries, too. If we could only see the pain within them, we would begin to understand them. Once understanding is present, compassion becomes possible.”

From Peace Is This Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh