Quotes About Contentment

I am not poor, I am not rich; nihil est, nihil deest, I have little, I want nothing: all my treasure is in Minerva's tower...I live still a collegiate student...and lead a monastic life, ipse mihi theatrum [sufficient entertainment to myself], sequestered from those tumults and troubles of the world...aulae vanitatem, fori ambitionem, ridere mecum soleo [I laugh to myself at the vanities of the court, the intrigues of public life], I laugh at all.

Let thy fortune be what it will, 'tis thy mind alone that makes thee poor or rich, miserable or happy.

Now go and brag of thy present happiness, whosoever thou art, brag of thy temperature, of thy good parts, insult, triumph, and boast; thou seest in what a brittle state thou art, how soon thou mayst be dejected, how many several ways, by bad diet, bad air, a small loss, a little sorrow or discontent, an ague, &c.; how many sudden accidents may procure thy ruin, what a small tenure of happiness thou hast in this life, how weak and silly a creature thou art.

I really wanted there to be something in my life that I enjoy just for the beauty of it.

It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be other than it is, not in the future, not in the past, not in all eternity. Not merely to endure that which happens of necessity . . . but to love it. — FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

Así como un día rebosante trae consigo dulces sueños, una vida bien empleada procura una muerte dulce".

The better you feel about yourself, the less you feel the need to show off.

si alguien me preguntara: «Tiro, ¿por qué te saltas un período tan largo de la vida de Cicerón?», me vería obligado a contestarle: «Amigo mío, porque esos fueron años de felicidad, y hay pocos asuntos cuya lectura resulte más aburrida que la felicidad»

that pleasure is the beginning and end of living happily

It seemed to me at the time - and still does now, only even more so - an act of madness for a man to pursue power when he could be sitting in the sunshine and reading a book

I wouldn't have guessed you were a smoker', I said. 'I only ever allow myself one. And then only at times of great stress or great contentment'. 'Which is this?' 'Very funny.

Few subjects make more tedious reading than happiness.

Take what you can have. Rejoice in what you can save, and do not mourn your loses for too long.

The trick is not to satisfy everyone, but to leave everyone feeling they reached the best possible result.

Light, but a man could drown in those eyes and be happy doing it.

They had a curious way of moving, in some manner blending a careful deliberateness with an almost childlike carefree joyfulness. They knew and liked who and what they were and where they were, and they seemed at peace with themselves and everything around them.

Change what you can if it needs changing, but learn to live with what you can't change.' You'll only get a sick stomach, otherwise

The only man completely at peace is a man without a navel.

All he wanted from life was some good wine, a game of dice, and a pretty girl or three.

He's a little plump for my taste, but I always say a man can't be too fat if enough gold comes with it.

Only by surrendering to the Pattern can you begin to have some control over the course of your own life. If you fight, the Pattern will still force you, and you will find only misery where you might have found contentment instead.

Take what you can have. Rejoice in what you can save, and do not mourn your losses too long

You must learn to ride fate. Only by surrendering to the Pattern can you begin to have some control over the course of your own life. If you fight, the Pattern will still force you, and you will find only misery where you might have found contentment instead.