We know only about the life that is here, in this world, and therefore if our life has a purpose, then it must be here, in this world.
There is no peace for the one who lives for worldly goals among people, nor for the one who lives for spiritual goals alone. Only the one who lives to serve God among people can attain peace.
You shall not wish for death out of pusillanimity. The weight of the Universe is pressed down on the shoulders of each moral agent to hold him to his task. The only path of escape known in all the worlds of God is performance. You must do your work, before you shall be released.
— Emerson
True life exists only in the present. That which was is no more, and that which will be has not come—there is only that which is now. And the only thing you should strive for with all the strength of your soul is to live well now. Do not believe those who teach that this life should be lived for the sake of a future one. We live and know only the life that we have now. And that is why we must focus all our efforts on living this life in the best way possible—not just the whole of this life, but its every hour.
Life is neither suffering nor pleasure, it is a task, which we are duty bound to perform and to honestly see through to the end.
— Tocqueville
You are suffering, and it seems to you that you cannot live as well as you would like to, that you would be better able to do what you think you should do if your life was different. Then know the truth, which is that you can always do what should be done in this life, in the circumstances in which you find yourself now.
— After Carlyle
The place of our service is here, in this world, and therefore all our efforts must be focused on fulfilling our service here.
