Stillness is the Key: An Ancient Strategy for Modern Life

by Ryan Holiday

every beat of the present moment would be theirs for living.

“All of humanity’s problems,” Blaise Pascal said in 1654, “stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

The less energy we waste regretting the past or worrying about the future, the more energy we will have for what’s in front of us.

Be present. And if you’ve had trouble with this in the past? That’s okay. That’s the nice thing about the present. It keeps showing up to give you a second chance.

Zhuang Zhou, the Chinese philosopher, said, “Tao is in the emptiness. Emptiness is the fast of the mind.”

People who don’t read have no advantage over those who cannot read.

Give more. Give what you didn’t get. Love more. Drop the old story.