I delight to lodge in such temples as are not regularly kept closed. None of the gods reject me; they make me partner of their roof.
Apollonius Of TyanaRead
O ye gods, grant unto me to have little and to want nothing.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire for contentment with little, emphasizing the importance of wanting nothing more.
Apollonius of Tyana highlights a profound philosophy of happiness and contentment, suggesting that true fulfillment comes not from external wealth or possessions, but from a state of mind that values simplicity and being satisfied with what one has. This reflects a deeper understanding that wanting less can lead to greater happiness and peace, shifting the focus from material desires to emotional and spiritual well-being.
In practice
Using the quote during a mindfulness workshop to emphasize living in the moment.
I delight to lodge in such temples as are not regularly kept closed. None of the gods reject me; they make me partner of their roof.
Just as an individual of pre-eminent worth transforms democracy into a monarchy of the best man, even so the rule of one man, if in all things it has an eye to the common welfare, is democracy.
A man must fortify himself and understand that a wise man who yields to laziness or anger or passion or love of drink, or who commits any other action prompted by impulse and inopportune, will probably find his fault condoned; but if he stoops to greed, he will not be pardoned, but render himself odious as a combination of all vices at once.
Never may a man prone to believe scandal be a despot or a popular leader! Under his guidance, democracy itself will be despotism.
If any man has left us for fear of Nero, I shall not account him a coward; but I shall hail as a philosopher any man who has been superior to this fear, and I shall teach him all I know.
If you have problems of conduct that are difficult and hard to settle, I will furnish you with solutions, for I not only know matters of practice and duty, but I even know them beforehand.
Our rural ancestors, with little blest, Patient of labor when the end was rest, Indulged the day that housed their annual grain, With feasts, and off'rings, and a thankful strain.
What youβre believing in the moment creates your suffering or your happiness.
The good life consists in deriving happiness by using your signature strengths every day in the main realms of living. The meaningful life adds one more component: using these same strengths to forward knowledge, power, or goodness. A life that does this is pregnant with meaning, and if God comes at the end, such a life is sacred.
Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable.
One is happy as a result of one's own efforts, once one knows of the necessary ingredients of happiness-simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and, above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain.
We only need so much to survive, but this world we live in tells us we need more stuff to be happy. We're inundated with our televisions, the Internet and advertising that says in order to be happy you have to have these things. When you say, 'Gimme, gimme, gimme,' you will always be in short supply.
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