To hone my voice, I read everything, from books to cereal boxes, three times: once for fun, the second time to learn something new about the writing craft, and the third time was to improve that piece.

Writing wasn’t just a form of expression. It was a form of pathology by embarking on spoken word over and over and over again and reciting my poems.

Just like a skill or any art,
We cannot possess hope without practicing it.
It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.

Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life.

Little though he recites the sacred texts, but puts the Teaching into practice, forsaking lust, hatred, and delusion, with true wisdom and emancipated mind, clinging to nothing of this or any other world — he indeed partakes of the blessings of a holy life.

The only thing is, people have to develop courage. Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

People aren’t born social. Sure it comes easier to some people… but most people, like you, need to work at it. Some more than others.

I made practice runs down to skid row to get ready for my future. I didn’t like what I saw down there. Those men and women had no special daring or brilliance. They wanted what everybody else wanted.

Mousa: Well, I do not know who you really are. But by the way you look, I can see you have no experience in war, do you? C’mon, do you?
Rambo: I’ve fired a few shots.
Mousa: A few shots? Come on! Maybe you should go back home and think it all over again. For a very long time!
Rambo: I did think it over.
Mousa: You did? Well… This is your choice. But let me tell you, you cannot get this American alone. If you fail, do not blame me. I will accept no responsibility.
Rambo: Sounds familiar…

Buddhism, particularly as it is popularly practiced, promises improvement through karma. Islam and Christianity promise eternal paradise to the faithful. And that is a powerful opiate, certainly, the hope of a better life to come. But there’s a Sufi story that challenges the notion that people believe only because they need an opiate. Rabe’a al-Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism, was seem running through the streets of her hometown, Basra, carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When someone asked her what she was doing, she answered, ‘I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God.’

Happiness in marriage begins long before you say, “I do.” By rediscovering and practicing the divine design for courtship before marriage, you’ll help ensure lasting love and fulfillment in marriage.

No matter what day of the week it is, make it the best you possibly can, by practising gratitude!

Before I get out of bed, I am saying thank you. I know how important it is to be thankful.

To make this a good morning and a wonderful Thursday, one easy tip is to begin a gratitude practice by finding three small things you can be thankful for in your life.

Gratitude and a positive attitude are not obstacles; they are choices that you make every day.

As you begin and finish your day, take a moment to be grateful for everything you have. You’ll start to appreciate how fortunate you are.

Take a moment each day to be grateful for what you have. Make a point to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness—it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.

Every day, I’m thankful and appreciative.