more from a "cherokee feast of days"
"Giving up robs us of drawing up gold from our own depths. Imagine having a well, a very deep well, that is topped off with several feet of tainted water. But deeper down, the water, the a'ma', is clear, and down even farther it is a spring, a spring that bubbles cold and pure through deposits of gold. Should we give up because of what we saw in the beginning? Or would we want to tap the depths and clear away the polluted water and get down to the very best? If it is true that we only know five percent of who and what we are-- then, it is possible that we have untapped depths, where our being is pure and free of contamination. Should we give up such a rich experience because of what we have seen on the surface?"
"Habit has its beginning in thought. Whatever becomes second nature to us first caught on in our thinking-- only to operate, in time, without thinking at all. Breaking with deeply ingrained addiction is something else again. Since we were old enough to understand we have been to a certain thought, molded to act and react until we follow through habitually. If what we did gave us comfort or made us feel good, we did it again. We have to fight habit with habit, deliberately changing one thought, one action, for another. If we simply try to remove a habit without filling the vacuum, we are opening the door for more and worse to come in. It is harder when we let thought drift back to remember how we were comforted. There is more than one comfort, more than one joy in forming a new habit."
"Habit has its beginning in thought. Whatever becomes second nature to us first caught on in our thinking-- only to operate, in time, without thinking at all. Breaking with deeply ingrained addiction is something else again. Since we were old enough to understand we have been to a certain thought, molded to act and react until we follow through habitually. If what we did gave us comfort or made us feel good, we did it again. We have to fight habit with habit, deliberately changing one thought, one action, for another. If we simply try to remove a habit without filling the vacuum, we are opening the door for more and worse to come in. It is harder when we let thought drift back to remember how we were comforted. There is more than one comfort, more than one joy in forming a new habit."