I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life as a Forest Monk

by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad

It’s so easy to become hung up on appearing clever and impressive that we forget just how far sincerity can take us.

It’s only human to find other people annoying. It happens to all of us. But it’s a huge energy suck and can turn into an unnecessary drain on your resources. I’m happy to tell you there’s a solution to the problem. If you want someone to be easy to deal with, to behave in a way you find tolerable, there’s really only one way: learn to like them exactly as they are.

‘I’m prepared to work with you. You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to be intellectually shrewd, I don’t even have to like you. But I’m prepared to work with you.’

‘Knowledge is proud of all it knows. Wisdom is humble before all it doesn’t know.’

If you always cling to what you think you already know, you make yourself inaccessible, and you miss out on so much. If we want access to a higher wisdom, we have to let go of some of our convictions and become more comfortable with not knowing. Thinking that we know is often a big problem. Knowing you don’t know is hardly ever a big problem.

Pooh would – wide-eyed, alert, aware.

Listening without prejudice or judgement can help us understand ourselves.

Practising letting go is one of the most important things I’ve learned.

get rid of thoughts that are harming us, that are making us feel small, useless, lonely, afraid, sad, angry – is to let them go. Even if they’re ‘right’.

I may be wrong. I may be wrong. I may be wrong.’

The farmer doesn’t believe it’s possible to know whether things that happen in life are good or bad. Loosening our grip on those types of convictions is both liberating and a sign of wisdom.

this encounter with my own helplessness was the key that once more opened the door to joy.

Most of the psychological suffering we humans experience is voluntary and self-inflicted.

‘Thanks for your input. We’ll get back to you.’

‘It seems to me, the more refined forms of happiness are characterised by the absence of things, rather than the presence of things.’

Ajahn Sucitto. He was the author and illustrator of a book

Book library

clench your fist hard, then let it unfold into an open hand.

how we can let go of things we cling to too hard: things, feelings, convictions. Clench your fist hard, then relax it into an open hand.

learning how to handle both praise and criticism wisely.

don’t forget to leave room for miracles.’

Dont contol everything

Almost all the best things in my life have been outside my control,

You will know what you need to know when you need to know it.’

There’s nothing wrong with thinking about your own life. But there’s value in taking a break from it from time to time. Let it rest, let it sit. That usually makes it easier to pick the bags up again.

There’s much to gain from being very cautious about what you think about your future.

But what we call the past isn’t what actually happened. It’s fragments, often cherry-picked from emotionally charged situations.

‘You won’t always have what you want, but you’ll always have what you need.’

you’re mindful enough to respond in an open manner.

mustering the courage to face uncertainty.

A big part of spiritual growth is about finding the courage to face uncertainty.

‘We learn in stillness, so we remember when the storm comes.’

‘This too shall pass.’

Your compassion for others will always fall short and remain fragile, so long as you’re unable to extend it to yourself first.

bear in mind that we’re doing the best we can. Others are doing the best they can,

‘Trust in Allah, but tie your camel.’

very solid will and plenty of good intentions, and I’ve learned to trust those things.

appreciate the sincerity.

Most leaves hold on until they’re withered and brown, but some fall while they’re still green.

Our actions and our memories are like the bathwater we sit in. It’s up to us if it’s clean or dirty.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about Be kind Always

It is a mark of how far we’ve come when we have genuinely learned to separate people from their actions.