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

by Leo Tolstoy

The most critical piece of knowledge, then, is the knowledge of what is essential to learn and what isn’t.

A huge amount of knowledge is accumulated at present. Soon our abilities will be too weak, and our lives too short, to study this knowledge. We have vast treasures of knowledge at our disposal but after we study them, we often do not use them at all. It would be better not to have this burden, this unnecessary knowledge, which we do not really need. —IMMANUEL KANT

Knowledge is limitless. Therefore, there is a minuscule difference between those who know a lot and those who know very little.

A habit is never good, even a habit of doing good deeds. Good deeds, after they become habits, are no longer acts of virtue. Real good is achieved only with effort. —IMMANUEL KANT

What? I have to disagree here. Creating good habits is a must so that we don’t fall into bad ones(which is usually a lot easier). Sure, it may be more virtuous to do everything by sheer force of will, but how many can really keep effort going? Besides, the result is what matters here, not if you feel virtous or not. The act itself is the good, good habits > good person.

Be attentive to what you do; never consider anything unworthy of your attention. —CONFUCIUS

Without physical exertion, there is no joy in rest;

Life should and can be limitless joy. Life in this world is not a vale of tears, not a trial, but a thing that surpasses our imagination. Life could be limitless joy, if we would only take it for what it is, in the way it is given to us.

Do not seek pleasure everywhere, but always be ready to find it. —JOHN RUSKIN

People involve themselves in countless activities which they consider to be important, but they forget about one activity which is more important and necessary than any other, and which includes all other things: the improvement of their soul.

To improve ourselves, to move toward that goal, perfection, that puts no less a demand on us for being unattainable, requires solitude, removal from the concerns of everyday life. And yet constant solitude renders self-improvement impossible, if not pointless. A balance must be struck between meditating in solitude and then applying this to your everyday life.

When we treat our neighbors as they deserve to be treated, we make them even worse; when we treat them as if they were who we wish they were, we improve them. —JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

A man is wise who does three things: first, he does by himself those things which he advises others to do; secondly, he does not do anything that contravenes the truth; and thirdly, he is patient with the weaknesses of those who surround him.

There are two types of ignorance, the pure, natural ignorance into which all people are born, and the ignorance of the so-called wise. You will see that many among those who call themselves scholars do not know real life, and they despise simple people and simple things. —BLAISE PASCAL

A man who does not understand the benefit of suffering does not live a clever and true life. Mankind has never achieved greatness but through suffering. —F. ROBERT DE LAMENNAIS

Try to understand and remember that a person always tries to do what is best for himself. And if he is right when he does the best thing for himself, it is good; but if he is mistaken, it is bad, because suffering will follow after such mistakes. If you remember this, then you will never be upset by anybody, you will never reproach anybody, and you will never be an enemy to anybody. —After EPICTETUS

If you are living with another person, make an agreement that as soon as either of you starts to blame the other, you will end the argument.

Constant idleness should be included in the tortures of hell, but it is, on the contrary, considered to be one of the joys of paradise. —CHARLES DE MONTESQUIEU

Criticize yourself, but do not feel desperate about it. —EPICTETUS

The happiness or unhappiness of a man does not depend upon the amount of property or gold he owns. Happiness or misery is in one’s soul. A wise man feels at home in every country. The whole universe is the home of a noble soul. —DEMOCRITUS

Try to avoid making judgments about yourself, especially by comparing yourself with others. Compare yourself only with perfection.

Seek to learn constantly while you live; do not wait in the faith that old age by itself will bring wisdom. —SOLON

We cannot stop on the way to self-perfection. As soon as you notice that you have a bigger interest in the outer world than in yourself, then you should know that the world moves behind you.

Life is the constant approach to death; therefore, life can be bliss only when death does not seem to be an evil.

We say sometimes, “Here I will live in the rainy season, there I will live in the summer.” So a crazy man dreams, because he does not think about death. But then death comes, and it takes all people with it: the man who is busy, and he who is concerned with something, and he who is greedy, and he who is absent-minded. Neither your son, nor your father, nor family or friends can help you when death comes. A wise man, one who understands this, looks for the way which leads to calmness. —BUDDHIST WISDOM

You should live your life as if you are ready to say good-bye to it at any moment, as if the time left you is some pleasant surprise. —MARCUS AURELIUS

Remember, you do not live in the world, you only pass through it.

A wise man sets requirements only for himself; an unwise man makes requirements for others. —CHINESE WISDOM

wise man always finds some support for himself in everything, because his gift is in obtaining goodness from everything. —JOHN RUSKIN

All things in the world belong to me. Creation and destruction happen according to my will. The present world is just a shell, and I am the yolk. —PERSIAN WISDOM

Fear nobody and nothing. That which is the most precious matter in you can be damaged by no one and by nothing.

The inner and outer consequences of even the smallest lies are usually more harmful than those small unpleasant things which result from telling the truth directly.

In order to live in goodness, try doing it. You should celebrate each new day with a good action, a good deed. This is the best way to start a new day.

The greatest changes in the world are made slowly and gradually, not with eruptions and revolutions.

The process of life should be the birth of a soul. This is the highest alchemy, and this justifies our presence on earth. This is our calling and our virtue. —HENRI AMIEL

There is nothing more harmful for your inner perfection than the understanding that you are doing well. The way to happiness, the way to real moral improvement, moves so invisibly, so inconspicuously, that a person can see his successes only after great, lengthy periods of time. If you think that you are moving toward perfection and you notice this, then you should know that you are mistaken, that you have stopped and are moving backward.

It is a great happiness to have what you desire; but it is an even greater happiness not to want more than you already have. —MENEDEMUS

Who is a wise man?—He who studies all the time. Who is strong?—He who can limit himself. Who is rich?—He who is happy with what he has. —The TALMUD

You should be careful not to follow bad examples. When you hear your neighbor slandering others, try to stop him. —From the BOOK OF DIVINE THOUGHTS

There is no worse harm for a person with a strong intellect than the temptation to make witty remarks that blame and mock his neighbors. Making jokes and blaming and mocking others is like covering a dead body with a nice sauce and presenting it as a meal. Without the sauce, you would turn away, but with it, you find you can easily eat this distasteful meal. Never listen to those who blame others and speak well about you.

Take from a person who follows the divine law everything which other people think of as comfort and wealth, and nevertheless such a person will remain happy.

We do not have the right to be unhappy with our life. If it seems to us that we are not satisfied with life, we should see this as a reason to be unsatisfied with ourselves.

Very often the business which busy people claim to be doing is not important at all, and sometimes it would be better left undone.

He who is looking for wisdom is already wise; and he who thinks that he has found wisdom is a stupid man. —EASTERN WISDOM

The prerequisite of a good life is peace between people, and the major obstacle to peace is pride. A person should be humble, prepared to be falsely accused, ready for everything; only then can he bring peace into his relationships and into the lives of others.

Be strict in judging yourself and gentle in judging others, and you will have no enemies. —CHINESE WISDOM

Almost every effort of the human mind is directed, not toward lightening the work of the laborer, but toward making more pleasant the idleness of the leisured.

To vanquish sin, you must accept that the root of each sin is in a bad thought. We are all only the consequences of what we think. —BUDDHA

We regret losing a purse full of money, but a good thought which has come to us, which we’ve heard or read, a thought which we should have remembered and applied to our life, which could have improved the world—we lose this thought and promptly forget about it, and we do not regret it, though it is more precious than millions.

You should look in suffering for the seeds of your future spiritual growth, or the bitterness of suffering will be severe.

When you make an effort not to blame other people, your life becomes much easier, but very few people make this small effort.