Effort is a necessary condition for moral improvement.
Virtue means doing that which you consider your duty, but doing it should never turn into a habit, and if you have gotten used to doing the things you consider your duty, new demands of duty should arise from the human soul.
— After Kant
Just as patrols vigilantly guard a fortress, watching both outside and inside its walls, so must a human being stay alert as he guards himself, never losing sight of himself for a moment, especially in his relationships with others; the one who loses sight of a decisive minute of his life will inevitably step onto the path to hell.
— The Dhammapada
The one who reproaches his fate instead of himself for his misfortunes, thereby asserting his complacency, is in a hopeless state.
“We would be kind and gentle if others didn’t annoy us; we would be devout if we weren’t so busy. I would be patient if I was healthy; I would amaze the world if people knew about me.”
If we cannot make the situation we find ourselves in good and holy, then we will not make any situation good and holy.
The difficulties of our situation are given us so that we could smooth them out and destroy them with our goodness and firmness; the darkness of our situation is given us so we could illuminate it with the divine inner light of inner spiritual work; sorrow: to be borne patiently and trustfully by us; danger: to let us display our courage; temptation: to be conquered by our faith.
— Martineau
They are fatally mistaken who think, while they strive with their minds, that they may suffer their bodies to stagnate in luxury or sloth. The body is the first proselyte the Soul makes.
— Thoreau
A human being will be credited with nothing but his effort. Only through his effort does a human being appear in his true light.
— The Quran
We get frustrated and discouraged by our circumstances and want to change them; and yet, all the possible circumstances are nothing but indications of how you should act in each situation. If you are healthy: make an effort to use your strength to serve others; if you are ill: make an effort not to disturb others by your illness. If you are rich: make an effort to rid yourself of your wealth; if you are poor: make an effort not to demand anything from others. If you feel offended: make an effort to love your offenders. If you have caused an offense: make an effort to destroy the evil you have done.
