01UndatedDo you really want to be happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
02UndatedIn the story of the Ugly Duckling, when did the Ugly Duckling stop feeling Ugly? When he realized he was a Swan. Each of us has something Special, a Swan of some sort, hidden inside somewhere. But until we recognize that it's there, what can we do but splash around, treading water?Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
03UndatedIt is very hard to be brave," said Piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal."Rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "It is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
04UndatedThe Christmas presents once opened are Not So Much Fun as they were while we were in the process of examining, lifting, shaking, thinking about, and opening them. Three hundred sixty-five days later, we try again and find that the same thing has happened. Each time the goal is reached, it becomes Not So Much Fun, and we're off to reach the next one, then the next one, then the next.That doesn't mean that the goals we have don't count. They do, mostly because they cause us to go through the process and it's the process that makes us wise, happy, or whatever. If we do things in the wrong sort of way, it makes us miserable, angry, confused, and things like that. The goal has to be right for us, and it has to be beneficial, in order to ensure a beneficial process. But aside from that, it's really the process that's important.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
05UndatedThe main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time. You can only spend it. But you can spend it wisely or foolishly.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
06UndatedThere are things about ourselves that we need to get rid of; there are things we need to change. But at the same time, we do not need to be too desperate, too ruthless, too combative. Along the way to usefulness and happiness, many of those things will change themselves, and the others can be worked on as we go. The first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and not lose sight of it.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
07UndatedWithin each of us there is an Owl, a Rabbit, an Eeyore, and a Pooh. For too long, we have chosen the way of Owl and Rabbit. Now, like Eeyore, we complain about the results. But that accomplishes nothing. If we are smart, we will choose the way of Pooh. As if from far away, it calls to us with the voice of a child's mind. It may be hard to hear at times, but it is important just the same, because without it, we will never find our way through the forest.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
08UndatedNow, scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and up amusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just that there is something more, and that something more is what life is really about.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
09UndatedLike silence after noise, or cool, clear water on a hot, stuffy day, Emptiness cleans out the messy mind and charges up the batteries of spiritual energy. Many people are afraid of Emptiness, however, because it reminds them of Loneliness.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
10UndatedTreat gain and loss the same.' Don't be Intimidated. Don't make a Big Deal of anything - just accept things as they come to you.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
11UndatedIf people were Superior to Animals, they'd take better care of the worldBenjamin Hoff / quote ↗
12UndatedThousands of years ago, man lived in harmony with the rest of the natural world. Through what we would today call Telepathy, he communicated with animals, plants, and other forms of life-none of which he considered "beneath" himself, only different, with different jobs to perform. He worked side by side with earth angels and nature spirits, with whom he shared responsibility for taking care of the world.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
13UndatedIt's not surprising, therefore, that the [Bisy] Backson thinks of progress in terms of fighting and overcoming. One of his little idiosyncrasies, you might say. Of course, real progress involves growing and developing, which involves changing inside, but that's something the inflexible Backson is unwilling to do.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
14UndatedIn the story of Ugly Duckling, when did the Ugly Duckling stop feeling Ugly? When he realized that he was a Swan. Each of us has something Special, a swan of some sort, hidden inside somewhere. But until we recognize that it's there, what can we do but splash around, treading water? The Wise are Who They Are. They work with what they've got and do what they can do.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
15UndatedNo matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
16UndatedAs we have likely recognized by now, no two snowflakes, trees, or animals are alike. No two people are the same, either. Everything has its own Inner Nature. Unlike other forms of life, though, people are easily led away from what's right for them, because people have Brain, and Brain can be fooled. Inner Nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled. But many people do not look at it or listen to it, and consequently do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect for themselves, and are therefore easily influenced by others. But rather than be carried along by circumstances and manipulated by those who can see the weaknesses and behavior tendencies that we ignore, we can work with our own characteristics and be in control of our own lives. The Way of Self-Reliance starts with recognizing who we are, what we've got to work with, and what works best for us.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
17UndatedWhen you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the uncared block: life is fun.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
18UndatedReality is what one makes it. And the more negative reality one nurtures and creates, the more of it one has.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
19UndatedLots of people talk to animals...Not very many listen though...that's the problem.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
21UndatedThe honey doesn't taste so good once it is being eaten; the goal doesn't mean so much once it is reached; the reward is no so rewarding once it has been given. If we add up all the rewards in our lives, we won't have very much. But if we add up the spaces *between* the rewards, we'll come up with quite a bit. And if we add up the rewards *and* the spaces, then we'll have everything - every minute of the time that we spent.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
22UndatedSourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters.Benjamin Hoff / quote ↗
23UndatedWherever Gandhi went, he transformed situations and lives. As one friend and biographer wrote, "He...changed human beings by regarding them not as what they thought they were but as though they were what they wished to be, and as though the good in them was all of themBenjamin Hoff / quote ↗
