It is vanity to desire a long life, and to have little care for a good life.

Know thou that the love of thyself is more hurtful to thee than anything in the world. According to the love and inclination which thou hast, everything more or less cleaveth to thee. If thy love be pure, sincere, well-regulated, thou shalt not be in captivity to anything. Do not covet what thou mayest not have; do not have what is able to hinder thee, and to rob thee of inward liberty.

The Christ speaks: Wherever you are, whatever you do, you will be restless until you turn to God. Does it upset you when a day doesn't go according to your plan? Is there anyone who has everything for which one could wish? No, not one. Kings and popes are not exempt. Disappointment affects everyone. Doldrums corner even the most devout unless they are among the few who are able to endure hardship willingly without complaining.

Be ofttimes mindful of the saying,(3) The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. Strive, therefore, to turn away thy heart from the love of the things that are seen, and to set it upon the things that are not seen. For they who follow after their own fleshly lusts, defile the conscience, and destroy the grace of God.

Renounce all things, and thou shalt find all things; give up thy lust, and thou shalt find rest.

Satisfaction = what you have ÷ what you want

I don't want anything negative in my life, like hate, comparison, competition, and jealousy. I think these things are very heavy and take away from you the way of enjoying life.

Now we can understand Schopenhauer when he said that mankind was apparently doomed to vacillate eternally between the two extremes of distress and boredom. In actual fact, boredom is now causing, and certainly bringing to psychiatrists, more problems to solve than distress.

Better is it', she thought, 'to be clothed with poverty and ignorance, which are the dark garments of the female sex; better be quit of martial ambition, the love of power, and all the other manly desires if so one can more fully enjoy the most exalted raptures known to the humane spirit, which are', she said aloud as her habit was when deeply moved, 'contemplation, solitude, love.

I almost envied him the possession of this modest and clear flame.

What she liked was simply life. 'That's what I do it for', she said, speaking aloud, to life.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.