Happily ever after doesn't begin with Once upon a time: it begins with Now. Stephen Mitchell More Quotes by Stephen Mitchell More Quotes From Stephen Mitchell What we are tempted to call a disaster is sometimes the first, painful stage of a blessing. Stephen Mitchell blessing sometimes firsts [Jesus] teaches that just as the sun gives light to both wicked and good, and the rain brings nourishment to righteous and unrighteous, God's compassion embraces all people. There are no pre-conditions for it, nothing we need to do first, nothing we have to believe. When we are ready to receive it, it is already there. And the more we live in its presence, the more effortlessly if flows through us, until we find that we no longer need external rules or Bibles or Messiahs. Stephen Mitchell rain believe jesus What is the gospel according to Jesus? Simply this: that the love we all long for in our innermost heart is already present, beyond longing. Stephen Mitchell heart long jesus The physical body is acknowledged as dust, the personal drama as delusion. It is as if the world we perceive through our senses, the whole gorgeous and terrible pageant, were the breath-thin surface of a bubble, and everything else, inside and outside, is pure radiance. Both suffering and joy come then like a brief reflection, and death like a pin. Stephen Mitchell dust reflection drama When speech comes from a quiet heart, it has the strength of the orchid, and the fragrance of rock. Stephen Mitchell orchids rocks heart Education is no longer thought of as a preparation for adult life, but as a continuing process of growth and development from birth until death. Stephen Mitchell preparation education inspirational True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way. Stephen Mitchell going-with-the-flow mastery inspirational Even the purest of teachers will face bitter criticism from those who feel threatened by him. Stephen Mitchell criticism faces teacher What may appear to be proud ungrateful and headstrong fron the outside may from the inside express an unshakable integrity of character. Pride, if it doesn't step over the line into arrogance, is simply an unprejudiced self-esteem. Ingratitude is the appropriate response to a kindness that has hooks on it. Headstrong is another word for trusting your own heart. Stephen Mitchell self-esteem kindness integrity Children understand that 'once upon a time' refers not only--not even primarily--to the past, but to the impalpable regions of the present, the deeper places inside us where princes and dragons, wizards and talking birds, impassable roads, impossible tasks, and happy endings have always existed, alive and bursting with psychic power. Stephen Mitchell dragons children past What people love about life is its miraculous beauty; what they hate about death is the loss and decay around it. Yet losing is not losing, and decay turns into beauty, as beauty turns back into decay. We are breathed in, breathed out. Therefore all you need is to understand the one breath that makes up the world. Stephen Mitchell hate loss people There are two kinds of women: those who marry princes and those who marry frogs. The frogs never become princes, but it is an acknowledged fact that a prince may very well, in the course of an ordinary marrige, gradually, at first almost imperceptibly, turn into a frog. Happy the woman who after twenty-five years still wakes up beside the prince she fell in love with. Stephen Mitchell twenties two years Creativity, not normality, has become the paradigm of mental health. Stephen Mitchell paradigm mental-health creativity So actions themselves are not good and not bad; only the intention is important. Stephen Mitchell intention important action When there's no way out, you just follow the way in front of you. Stephen Mitchell fronts way It is better to do your own duty badly than to perfectly do an others; when you do your duty, you are naturally free from sin. Stephen Mitchell duty sin If you listen to the traffic with a clear mind, without any concepts, it is not noisy, it is only what it is. Stephen Mitchell traffic clear mind Whatever thought grips the mind at the time of death is the one which will propel it and decide for it the nature of its future birth. Thus if one wants to attain god after death, one has to think of him steadfastly... This is not as simple as it sounds, for at the time of death the mind automatically flies to the thought of an object (i.e. money, love) which has possessed it during its sojourn in the world. Thus one must think of god constantly. Stephen Mitchell simple mind thinking But self-abasement is just inverted egoism. Anyone who acts with genuine humility will be as far from humiliation as from arrogance. Stephen Mitchell arrogance humility self In a cookie factory, different cookies are baked in the shape of animals, cars, people, and airplanes. They all have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same dough, and they all taste the same. Stephen Mitchell airplane names animal
