A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Se

by Leo Tolstoy

Work is not a virtue, but it is the necessary condition of a virtuous life.

Hurried work done in irritation attracts the unfavorable attention of others. Real work is always quiet, constant, and inconspicuous.

Blaming others is an entertainment which some people like and cannot restrain themselves from. When you see all the harm this blaming causes, you see that it is a sin not to stop people from practicing this entertainment.

Truth is achieved through discussion, but the wiser man stops the arguments.

As soon as you start blaming a person, stop yourself. Remember not to say something bad about someone, even if you know it to be true,

Most people act, not according to their meditations, and not according to their feelings, but as if hypnotized, based on some senseless repetition of patterns.

You should be brave enough to use your own intellect, in life and in your education.

If you see that you are not behaving according to your inner desires, but because of some outer influence, stop and consider whether what drives you is good or bad.

And whether the good or bad evaluation is, equally, based on inner or outer (potentially internalised) drives (of others)

Do not try to justify war or the existence of the military. If you try to apply logical thought to explain things that are evil, the effort will only prevent your intellect and poison your heart.

Temporary solitude from all things in this life, the meditation within yourself about the divine, is food as necessary for your soul as material food is for your body.

A sage is not afraid of lack of knowledge: he is not afraid of hesitations, or hard work, but he is afraid of only one thing—to pretend to know the things which he does not know.

Never be ashamed to admit what you do not know.

Put everything to the test, holdfast to that which is good.

To be wise one must study both good and bad thoughts and acts, but one should study the bad first. You should first know what is not clever, what is not just, and what is not necessary to do.

We should teach our children those principles that are common to all religions—Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and so on, that is, for the moral science of love and the unification of all people.

Most people do not listen to God but adore him. It is better not to adore but to listen.

Moral teaching is not complete if it is not religious, but religious teaching is useless if it is not based on morality, that is, if it does not lead to a good life.

Substitute religious with spiritual (?) What do I think the difference between the two is? spirituality is common and necessary to all, and may be independent of religion. The reverse may not be true: religion is common, but may not be fundamental to or dependent on spirituality.

You should acquire the kind of wealth which cannot be stolen from you by thieves, which people in power cannot take from you, which will stay with you even after your death, never diminishing and never disappearing. This wealth is your soul.

There are two ways not to suffer from poverty. The first is to acquire more wealth. The second is to limit your requirements. The first is not always within our power, but the second is always in our power.

Do not force others to love you; just love others, and you will be loved.

Practice love for others; love yourself. Love yourself to love others--the world

The more a person expresses his love, the more people love him; and the more people love him, the easier it is for him to love others. In this way, love is eternal.

A good thing is always done with an effort, and when the effort is repeated several times, then a good thing becomes a habit.

Do not detest any action which helps you to achieve good, or even more importantly—which can prevent you from doing evil.

Illness should be viewed as a natural condition of life.

Neglecting your health can prevent you from serving people, and too much attention to your body and its health can bring the same results.

Do not be afraid of illness, and do not think that being ill frees you from your moral requirements.