Eric Overby > Eric's Quotes

Showing 1-30 of 216

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

#1

“True words aren't eloquent;
eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
men who need to prove their point aren't wise.

The Master has no possessions.
The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

227 likes

#2

“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”
― Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching

3 likes

#3

“The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings. He knows that he is going to die, and he has nothing left to hold on to: no illusions in his mind, no resistances in his body. He doesn’t think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds nothing back from life; therefore he is ready for death, as a man is ready for sleep after a good day’s work.”
― Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching

2 likes

#4

“Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her.”
― Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching

11 likes

#5

“Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.”
― Laozi

94 likes

#6

“The Old Poets Of China

Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe
that I do not want it. Now I understand
why the old poets of China went so far and high
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.”
― Mary Oliver, Why I Wake Early

tags: poetry, solitude

156 likes

#7

“How to be a Poet

(to remind myself)

i

Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity…

ii

Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensional life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.”
― Wendell Berry, Given

tags: breathing, how-to-be-a-poet, nature, poems, poet, poetry, quietness

135 likes

#8

“We walked always in beauty, it seemed to me. We walked and looked about, or stood and looked. Sometimes, less often, we would sit down. We did not often speak. The place spoke for us and was a kind of speech. We spoke to each other in the things we saw.”
― Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow

tags: beauty, speech, woods

87 likes

#9

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

tags: buddhism, gratitude, joy, mindfulness, zen

4836 likes

#10

“Morning Meditation

I used to rise early in meditation,
As the ancient saints and mystics,
Looking for peace, bliss, and ecstasy.

Now I awake as the sun rises.
I lie beside her,
Her head and the tops of her shoulders
Revealed from the top of the covers
Where we lay. Her face shines,
As the sun rolls through the bedroom
Curtains and leave her with a mandorla
As if she were the subject of iconography.

I lay in silence as I meditate on the artistry
Of freckles that are perfectly dotted
On her face and shoulders.
I venerate the delicate curvature
Of her lips and nose. Her eyes closed,
Veiled by a composition of lashes
That shroud the green mystery underneath.
As her hair lays dark and graceful
Across the pillows in front of me,
I lay in adoration,
and know there are none like her.

Moses was not even shown God's face,
Yet she has done me one better.”
― Eric Overby, Journey

tags: adoration, love-quotes, meditation-quotes, mindfulness-and-meditation, mindfulness-practice, morning-quotes, sunrise

5 likes

#11

“All of Her

She shows me all of her insecure places
And I kiss them until she knows
They are beautiful. No dark places
To hide in which love
Doesn't shower her with acceptance.”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: acceptance-quotes, beautiful-life, dark-places, darkness-quotes, insecure-imperfections, insecurity-quotes, kissing-quotes, love-wins, senses-quotes, wife-quotes

16 likes

#12

“Possessions

Live in peace and be free.
When possessions own your heart,
You are enslaved to money and to corporations.
Your time is owned by the moneylenders
And they will not let you spend it freely.
They will tell you what to buy, but not
What it will truly cost you.

You will be held ransom.

What is your heart worth?
What about your time?
What holds your heart, holds your attention.
What holds your attention, holds your time.
What holds your time, holds your life.
And if it's possessions that holds these things,
It will demand it all.”
― Eric Overby

tags: attention, debt, debt-free, freedom, money-quotes, peace, peaceful-life, possession-quotes, time, your-worth

2 likes

#13

“Looking For Gold

I'm looking for the gold in this life
A love so rare
It's doesn't have a price
Not living for the future
No heaven, no hell, no paradise
And I'm giving it all away now,
Cause you can't step
In the same river twice”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: future, gold, heaven, hell, looking-within, now, now-is-the-time, paradise, peaceful-life, this-life

4 likes

#14

“Art is that which helps you see
beauty in the mundane...
Let my life be a work of art.”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: art, artful-living, beautiful-life, beauty-quotes, life-as-art, look-and-see, mundane, mundanity, work-of-art

7 likes

#15

“My past is being burnt down
I've shown you the ash
Is it me, or are we more than just friends now?
I have to ask.”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: ash, burning, friends, more-than-friends, new-life, new-love, past, poetry, song-lyrics

8 likes

#16

“We are just a few atoms
In the vast universe, stardust,
Yet who can measure the sum
Of two lovers and what's between us”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: atoms-in-the-universe, between-us-quote, love-poem, love-poetry, lovers, measure-love, stardust

16 likes

#17

“Now is the only moment I will ever have.
I want to spend the rest of my nows beside you.”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: beside-you, marriage-proposal, marriage-quotes, mindfulness-practice, moment, now, now-is-the-time, spend-the-rest-of-forever

2 likes

#18

“What is it that is so interesting
about what's happening everywhere else
but where you are?”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: addiction, be-here-now, contentment, distraction, instagram-quotes, mindfulness, now, social-media, social-media-addiction

6 likes

#19

“The Accounting of Love and Hospitality -
Sermon on the Account

Do enough for others that it's impossible
For them to keep accounts
Of what they owe you
Or what you've done.

Lose the account yourself,
Expect nothing in return.

Make a habit of giving things away.
Pay for other people's meal,
Friends and strangers.
Keep no accounts on that either.

Take what is offered to you,
But expect or demand nothing.

Tell the people in your life
That you appreciate them
As often as you can.
There may be a day when you can't.

Tell your kids and spouse that you love them,
Often and every night.
Remind yourself
What it is you love about them.

Look for ways to be kind and helpful,
There are plenty to find.

Do things without telling others
You've done them.
Don't even remind yourself.
Do acts of kindness, then let them go.

Live a life without clinging to expectations
About who you should be.

Your friends and family will change,
Everything does, you will.
Life has a lot of additions and subtraction;
Change is inevitable.

Spend time mindfully changing yourself
Towards kindness and patience.

At the end of your life,
Which could be any moment,
Let the ones that knew you
Have lived a better life because you were there.

Let your accounts be settled
And forgive other people's.”
― Eric Overby

tags: better-life, forgiveness, hospitality, how-to-be-happy, how-to-live, kindness-compassion, life-lessons, life-philosophy, sermon-on-the-mount, the-way

6 likes

#20

“It is the constant changing character
of our life together that I embrace.
We have come a long way; knowing
each other now in ways
that we did not before.”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: becoming, change, growing, impermanence, knowing-each-other, learning, marriage

2 likes

#21

“Screens make me discontented
With where I am. There is always
Something else or somewhere else.
People talk and I am absent.”
― Eric Overby

tags: contentment, conversation, discontent, listening

2 likes

#22

“By marriage I am asking you
to help me become a better version
of myself, while still loving me
every moment along the way.
Continuing what you’ve been doing
already and I am vowing
to do the same.”
― Eric Overby, Senses

tags: becoming, journey-together, love, marriage, marriage-vows, new-life, vows

4 likes

#23

“It takes me living an intentional, mindful, and quiet life to hear or see what’s here. Great art doesn’t necessarily create something new, it helps you appreciate what’s already here.”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: appreciation, art, be-here-now, be-present, haiku, intentional-life, intentional-living, mindfulness, quiet-life

6 likes

#24

“What is your peace worth?
At what cost will you lose it?
- Internal questions”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: cost, haiku, internal-peace, peace, peace-of-mind, questions

2 likes

#25

“Coffee in the dawn
With books open like our hearts,
Our weekend ritual”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: book-lovers-addiction, books, coffee, coffee-lovers, haiku, haiku-on-love, open-heart, ritual

7 likes

#26

“It's hard to tell where
It is that I end
And you begin, synergy”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: beginning, end, haiku-on-love, meeting-half-way, synergy

3 likes

#27

“Renga with Katie

There's no better place
Than in each moment with you
Traveling through life

Regardless of place and time,
Or seasons and location,

I never look back
To a time without you there
And wish to return

We are each other's constant
In an ever changing world

On a pilgrimage
To no place particular,
Destinationless

Each moment we're arriving
At another sacred place

Appreciating,
Remembering life before
You opened my eyes

It's both vivid and soothing
Like I'd never had vision

Now I see the way,
As we travel together
The fog is lifted

Each sight reveals each other
Each step reveals another”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: change, haiku, haiku-on-love, japanese-literature, journey, pilgrimage, renga, traveling

3 likes

#28

“Meditation is
The practice of letting go
Of life each moment

Each in breath followed by out,
Receiving life, letting go

Practice letting go,
Then when death knocks on your door
You’ll invite him in”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: breath, breathing, death, haiku, letting-go, meditation-practice

4 likes

#29

“Thoughts arise in mind,
Watch them pass over like clouds,
Then they fall away”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: arising-and-passing-away, buddhist-wisdom, fall-away, meditation, thought

2 likes

#30

“Leave each place you go
Better than when you found it,
My motto in life”
― Eric Overby, 17: Haiku Poems

tags: finding, haiku, leave-it-better, life-and-living, life-lessons, motto-in-life

3 likes

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

All Quotes

Eric Overby > Eric's Quotes

Tags From Eric’s Quotes