the definition of peace

"Peace is the result of restraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be." -Dr. Wayne Dyer

opposite directions

"Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

progress

"If you live through defeat, you're not defeated. If you are beaten but acquire wisdom, you have won. Lose yourself to improve yourself. Only when we shed all self-definition do we find out who we really are." "you must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be ." - Marianne Williamson

free love

"Never struggle to chase love, affection or attention. If it isn't given freely by another person, it isn't worth having" -unknown

purpose

"if something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it is your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life." - Charles Bukowski

the daily

"you'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. the secret of your success is found in your daily routine." - John C. Maxwell.

ahead of time

"Congratulations to those who leave the world before it deserts them; to those who build their graves before they enter them; and to those who please their Lord before they meet him." -Yahya ibn Mu'adh

silence

"How rare it is to find a soul quiet enough to hear God speak" - Francois Fenelon

contentment

"When a man is satisfied with God's decrees, it is a sign that God is satisfied with him." - Shaykh Ali ibn Uthman Hujwiri

six obstacles

"Ibrahim bin Adham said to a man during Tawaf: ' You should know that you will not attain the rank of the righteous until you overcome six obstacles. The first is that you close the door of luxury and open the door of hardship. The second is that you close the door of arrogance and open the door of humility. The third is that you close the door of comfort and open the door of struggle. The fourth is that you close the door of sleep and open the door of night vigil. The fifth is that you close the door of excessive wealth and open the door of dignified poverty. The sixth is that you close the door of procastination and open teh door of preparation for death.' "

on mistakes

"I’m human. If I didn’t make mistakes, I’d never learn. You can only go forward by making mistakes." — Alexander McQueen "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that might as well not have lived at all--in which case, you fail by default." --JK Rowling

Starry thoughts

"I will love the light for showing me the way, and I will love the darkness for showing me the stars" "Some people make their goals the stars. They may live and die never reaching them, but in the darkness of the night, those starts will guide them to their destination just because they put them in their sights."

willingness

Excerpts from Disciplining the Soul & Breaking The Two Desires by Ghazali "As long as worship and the renunciation of forbidden things are felt to be unpleasant and burdensome their performance will be defective, and cannot bring one to full felicity. Certainly the struggle to persevere with them is a good thing, but only in comparison with abandoning them, not in comparison of doing them willingly. "

one of my favorite quotes

i looked at all friends, and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue. i thought about all dresses, but did not find a better dress than piety. I thought about all types of wealth, but did not find a better wealth than contentment in little. i thought about all types of good deeds, but did not find a better deed than offering good advice. i looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience -Umar (RA)