David Chernikoff

“If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills, If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it, If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time, If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong, If you can take criticism and blame without resentment, If you can face the world without lies and deceit, If you can conquer tension without medical help, If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, Then you are probably a dog or a cat.”
― David Chernikoff, Life, Part Two: Seven Keys to Awakening with Purpose and Joy as You Age

“What’s important when exploring our vision is that we understand the difference between aspirations and expectations in the realm of spiritual training. Expectations, particularly of ourselves, are often unrealistically high. Like a reverberating echo deep in our psyches, there is often a voice that says with a tone of sadness, anger, or despair, Not good enough. Still not lovable. Something’s wrong with you. You are so broken. This “mood of unlove,” as transpersonal psychologist John Welwood dubbed it, is sometimes so deep-seated in the unconscious that we stopped noticing it long ago.”
― David Chernikoff, Life, Part Two: Seven Keys to Awakening with Purpose and Joy as You Age