“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the greatest of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“We pray for the big things, and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small, and yet really not so small, blessings.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, rejoice; let your gentleness and consideration be known to all, for the Lord is always near. Do not be anxious about anything, but with prayer, and by supplication, and with thanksgiving, let your needs be made known unto God. And the peace of the Lord, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7
“Our Lord’s love shines forth as much in the simplest of souls as it does in the most highly gifted, as long as there is no refusal offered to his grace.”
Thérèse Martin de Lisieux
Mr Aurelius was one wise MoFo. I read Meditations many years ago and much of it was stamped onto my brain. I can truly count the jaw dropping, eye opening books I’ve read on 2 hands-this is one.
Another that always comes to mind was Adele Davis’ Let’s Eat Right to Stay Healthy-read that when I was 18 and have lived it since.
Re Aurelius and Relative Deprivation differences: those who have not want what others have and more; those who have more want even more and then reach the stage of wanting those who have less have even more less.