Hugh Prather
Hugh Prather
Hugh Edmondson Prather IIIwas an American self-help writer, lay minister, and counselor, most famous for his first book, Notes to Myself, which was first published in 1970 by Real People Press, and later reprinted by Bantam Books. It has sold over 5 million copies, and has been translated into ten languages...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth23 January 1938
CountryUnited States of America
immature needs foolish
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. You are only young once, then you need another reason to act foolish. You are the only authority on what is best for you.
lying ambitious balls
When I get to where I can enjoy just lying on the rug picking up lint balls, I will no longer be too ambitious.
taken procrastination maturity
One element of maturity is the realization that we don't get away with anything. Any advantage gained or convenience taken, any private procrastination or insincerity, no matter how subtle or quick in passing, is paid for.
simplicity concentration gentleness
Happiness is gentleness, peace, concentration, simplicity, forgiveness, humor, fearlessness, trust, and now.
needs sometimes break
Love itself is not an act of will, but sometimes I need the force of my volition to break with my habitual responses and pass along the love already here.
prayer
My prayer is: I will be what I will be, I will do what I will do.
men sunglasses ifs
If a man takes off his sunglasses I can hear him better.
boredom looks way
Boredom or discontent is useful to me when I acknowledge it and see clearly my assumption that there's something else I would rather be doing. In this way boredom can act as an invitation to freedom by opening me to new options and thoughts. For example, if I can't change the activity, can I look at it more honestly?
love-is strive
Don't strive for love, be it.
frustration needs indecision
Fears, indecision, and frustration feed on words. Without words they usually stop. . . . Words are at times good for looking back, but they are confining when I need to act in the present.
change giving-up people
Very seldom will a person give up on himself. He continues to have hope because he knows he has the potential for change. He tries again - not just to exist, but to bring about those changes in himself that will make life worth living. Yet people are very quick to give up on friends, and especially on their spouses, to declare them hopeless, and to either walk away or do nothing more than resign themselves to a bad situation.
people trying want
When someone disagrees with me, I do not have to immediately start revising what I just said. People don't want me to always agree with them. They can sense this is phony. They can sense I am trying to control them: I am agreeing with them to make them like me. They feel; "I don't want to exist to like you. I DON'T exist to like you."
people feelings misunderstood
We feel understood by people who like us; misunderstood by people who don't -- and those feelings are probably realistic.
jobs compassion suffering
Our job this day is to become part of the answer to the world's immense and protracted suffering rather than continuing our ancient task of being part of the difficulty.