“Night Jasmine” | Anthony Satori
“Twas midnight — through the lattice, wreathed with woodbine, many a perfume breathed from plants that wake when others sleep, from timid jasmine buds that keep their fragrance to themselves all day, but when the sunlight dies away let their delicious secret out to every breeze that roams about.”
— Thomas Moore
“This Happiness” | Anthony Satori
“This happiness consisted of nothing else but the harmony of the few things around me with my own existence, a feeling of contentment and well-being that needed no changes and no intensification.”
— Hermann Hesse
A philosophy of simplicity, and the cultivation of inner/outer harmony, these are the sources of true happiness. The contented one knows that happiness is not something “out there” that needs to be chased and pursued, but rather, if one understands and internalizes the principles of simplicity and harmony, everything that is needed for happiness is right here, right now, within reach, right in our own backyard.
This does not, however, mean that the contented one does not appreciate and savor every moment of new experience, of elevated quality, of unique elegance and beauty. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Because the contented one does not need these things to be truly happy, such treasures can be openly welcomed into their world, and the greatest pleasure and value and joy can be derived from them — naturally and purely — when they arrive.
“Folded Umbrellas” | Anthony Satori
“Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.”
— William Blake
“Expect Wonders” | Anthony Satori
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.”
— Henry David Thoreau
“Rabbit” | Anthony Satori
“God changes his appearance every second. Blessed is the man who can recognize him in all his disguises.”
–Nikos Kazantzakis
“By Firelight” | Anthony Satori
“I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roasted chestnut, a scuffed-up little coal-burning heater, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.”
— Nikos Kazantzakis
“Umbrellas” | Anthony Satori
“My work is loving the world. Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work.. which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished. Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here.. Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart.. and a mouth with which to give shouts of joy.. telling them all, over and over, how it is that we live forever.”
— Mary Oliver
“Of Heaven and Earth” | Anthony Satori
“I am a being of Heaven and Earth, of thunder and lightning, of rain and wind, of the galaxies.”
— Eden Ahbez
“Rain is Grace” | Anthony Satori
“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”
— John Updike
“Big with Wonder” | Anthony Satori
“Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.”
— Thomas Aquinas
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