“ Anything that tends to make us elated is inevitably going to throw us into depression. ”
Judged by the normal standards of human affairs, the lives of men and women of God may look overburdened with suffering, and even inconclusive.
~ Eknath Easwaran
It is a very difficult secret to understand that when we do not want to possess another selfishly, he or she will always love us. It is when we do not want to possess, when we do not make demand after demand, that the relationship will last.
You occasionally hear it said that spiritual aspirants should drop everything and set off for the woods, or go to India and wander about on the slopes of the Himalayas. But only through daily contact with people--not trees or brooks or deer--can we train ourselves to be selfless in personal relationships.
As meditation deepens, compulsions, cravings, and fits of emotions begin to lose their power to dictate our behavior. We see clearly that choices are possible: we can say yes, or we can say no.... All we are is the result of what we have thought. By changing our mode of thinking, we can remake ourselves completely.
