Line of the day

Today's line of the day is both humorous and poignant. It comes from a little book by Thomas Keating called The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation, which is a collection of two lectures he gave at Harvard in 1997.

Here is the Line of the Day, presented out of context just to catch the humor:

"... instead of drinking your friends under the table as a significant sign of self-worth and esteem, if you enter a monastery, as I did, fasting the other monks under the table could become your new path to glory."
I love the combination of ironic twist and self-deprecation!


Here is the Line of the Day presented in context. Because it is both unsettling and true, the line carries a thought-provoking punch.

"The false self is deeply entrenched. You can change your name and address, religion, country, and clothes. But as long as you don't ask it to change, the false self simply adjusts to the new environment. For example, instead of drinking your friends under the table as a significant sign of self-worth and esteem, if you enter a monastery, as I did, fasting the other monks under the table could become your new path to glory. In that case, what would have changed? Nothing" (p. 17).

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