October 5

Moral work is necessary because the work of the body never ceases. The moment you stop working on your spirit, the body will rule over you.

1

It is difficult for people filled with delusions to comprehend the truth, for harmful influences of every sort are making tremendous effort to maintain their power over them. And that is why we must be especially persistent in seeking the truth and holding onto it.

— Lucy Mallory

2

That which is unclear should be investigated. That which is difficult should be done with great persistence.

— Confucius

3

Until you have destroyed to the very root your lustful attachment to woman, your spirit will remain tied to the earthly, like a fetus attached to its mother.

People drawn by lust thrash around like rabbits caught in a snare; entangled in the web of bodily desires, again and again they fall into long-lasting suffering.

— The Dhammapada

4

It is true that the path of self-improvement is difficult, but the difficulty lies not in the path itself but in our having spent so much time indulging in vices. These vices hinder our path to improvement. We suffer from this struggle to the extent that our vices have taken root within us. We cannot think that God is to blame for the necessity of this struggle, because there would be no struggle if we did not have the vices. Therefore, the cause of the struggle is our own imperfection. And yet, in this struggle lies our salvation, for if God had rid us of this struggle, then we would be left forever with our vices.

— Pascal

5

The same thing happens to our highest feelings that happens to all our faculties. If we do not exercise them, we do not notice that we are no longer in possession of them. People who never exercise their faculties become insensitive to their existence.

— Lucy Mallory

6

A good deed always requires effort, but when the effort is repeated a few times, the same deed becomes a habit.

Do not neglect actions that can make you accustomed to doing good, and especially ones that can break a bad habit.