We refrain from committing sin, because we love God, others, and ourselves.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality
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In Ecclesiastes, he says:
I have seen everything in my days of vanity: there is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise: why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other; for he who fears God will escape them all.
Here, by the statement “Do not be overly righteous,” he means that you should accept yourself, with your weakness and helplessness, and do not let the ideal self reject the true self, appearing to be a righteous self at all time, and do not use worldly, self-centered wisdom, with which you deceive yourself and believe that you are overly righteous.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality
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She may say, “Until when do I continue giving him my love?” The matter, however, requires that we do not take things personally, and that we understand that his lack of expression of his feelings has something to do with his upbringing and his way of thinking about his ideal self. This understanding liberates the wife from the bonds that he does not love her, and she begins to say, “He loves me but he does not know how to express his feelings. Therefore, I will teach him how to do so, by expressing my feelings and offering him love.” My advice to you is that you should not look at this matter personally, because you will not be able to offer [him] love, except if you look at this as a matter related to his personality, education, and upbringing.
—H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality
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“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”
―Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
SO GOOD QUOTES 