“Whenever the mind wanders, restless and diffuse in its search for satisfaction without, lead it within; train it to rest in the Self,” instructs Krishna. “When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.”

“To bear all naked truths, and to envisage circumstance, all calm,”

I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s concepts: ‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, Begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’

Susan B. Anthony decided that she would not be content to be a “good enough” public speaker. She must be great. Nothing else would fulfill her dharma. She became boldly single-minded in her practice. And she took on a coach:

“She noticed my shining eyes.” Children cannot understand the full import of The Gift. They can only feel their spirit leap up toward their object of interest—can only feel the delightful energy of fascination and enthusiasm (from the root en theos, literally, “the God within”).

Merton says it is: “We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs. But if we have the courage to let almost everything else go, we will probably be able to retain the one thing necessary for us—whatever it may be. If we are too eager to have everything, we will almost certainly miss

This is a predictable characteristic of those who have matured into their dharma. We see it in every other character we’ve examined: Goodall, Thoreau, Whitman, and Frost. Rugged and common as a stone. As the inner life of the practitioner of dharma becomes more complex, the outer life becomes simpler.

It will require you to reach—to work at your maximum potential. In order to do this, you will have to learn to take better care of yourself. You will have to sleep and eat properly. (In the case of a writer, you will have to stop abusing your mind with poorly written books.) You will probably have to create a regular schedule.

She became famous for standing her ground with equanimity. There are dozens of fantastic stories of her facing down apoplectic men in public situations—usually winning the day with her calm, her sense of humor, and her impressive composure