We all experience tough times. Sometimes we handle them very well, sometimes they stick around for a while and  other times we just really need to hear or read something that puts everything into perspective. Over the years I can say that on many occasions it was a simple saying, paragraph of text or quick realization that pushed me through a tough time and onto a path of feeling much clearer and lighter about life. Of course there was inner work to go along with it, but this was often triggered by words.

I have compiled a list of some favorite quotes and reflections that might help any of us through a tough time. Remember though, it’s not just about forgetting about our problems and moving on, but about truly understanding why the challenge was tough to begin with, and which of our perceptions or beliefs made it that way. This way we can disempower them, move on and be less “triggered” the next time something arises. This is one way to gain true peace within ourselves.

1. “The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.” – Unknown

2. “Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” – Eckhart Tolle

3. “Just as ripples radiate from the place where a stone is thrown into a pool of water, our sometime-unconscious thoughts, feelings, emotions, and beliefs create the “disturbances” in the field that become the blueprints for our lives.” – Gregg Braden

4. It’s important we set aside expectations and simply go with what presents itself in our lives. Sure we can make plans, set goals, and take steps to make them happen, but remember not to attach to them and flow with what changes occur. Be open to adjustments. This way, we will always notice the silver lining in every scenario.

5. “Death is a stripping away of all that is not you. The secret to life is to “die before you die”–and find that there is no death.” – Eckhart Tolle

6. “If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Engelbreit

7. “The hardest struggle of all is to be something different from what the average man is.” – Charles M Schwab

8. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

9. “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” – Eckhart Tolle

10. “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.” – Swami Vivekananda

11. “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. – Agnes Repplier

12. ”What is commonly called “falling in love” is in most cases an intensification of egoic wanting and needing. You become addicted to another person, or rather to your image of that person. It has nothing to do with true love, which contains no wanting whatsoever.” Eckhart Tolle

Source: www.collective-evolution.com