I am not a master of literature…

“I am not a master of literature nor of arts, such as belong to this world, but a foolish and simple-minded man. I have never desired to learn any sciences, but from early youth I strove after the salvation of my soul, and thought how I might inherit or possess the kingdom of heaven. Finding within myself a powerful contrarium, namely, the desires that belong to the flesh and blood, I began to fight a hard battle against my corrupted nature, and with the aid of God, I made up my mind to overcome the inherited evil will, to break it, and to enter wholly into the love of God in the Christ. I therefore then and there resolved to regard myself as one dead in my inherited form, until the Spirit of God would take form in me, so that in and through Him I might conduct my life. This, however, was not possible for me to accomplish, but I stood firmly by my earnest resolution, and fought a hard battle with myself. Now while I was wrestling and battling, being aided by God, a wonderful light arose within my soul. It was a light entirely foreign to my unruly nature, but in it I recognized the true nature of God and man, and the relation existing between them, a thing which heretofore I had never understood, and for which I would never have sought.” Jacob Boehme

Thanks to Chris A for sharing this with me.

This also came to me from The Seeker The Search The Sacred

“In humility is the greatest freedom. As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think is important you lose your peace of heart. As soon as you compare that shadow with the shadows of other people, you lose all joy, because you hve begun to trade in unrealities, and there is no joy in things that do not exist.” Thomas Merton.