Leo Tolstoy

Light for the Journey: The Power of Letting Go: Growing Love and Goodness

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When you stop pointing fingers, you open your heart to love and your life to goodness.

If you make it a habit not to blame others, you will feel the growth of the ability to love in your soul, and you will see the growth of goodness in your life. ~ Leo Tolstoy

Reflection

Blame is easy—it shields us from discomfort and places responsibility elsewhere. Yet, when we make blaming others a habit, we rob ourselves of the chance to grow. Tolstoy reminds us that by releasing blame, even when it feels justified, we free our souls to expand in love. Love is not born from bitterness or fault-finding but from compassion and responsibility. Each time we pause before pointing a finger and instead choose to look inward, we plant seeds of kindness. These seeds flourish into goodness, not just in our own lives but in the lives we touch. Blame shrinks us; love enlarges us. Practice forgiveness, embrace accountability, and watch how love and goodness begin to weave themselves quietly but powerfully into your days.

The Quiet Power of Moving Forward When It’s Hard

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Patience isn’t twiddling your thumbs—it’s strapping on your boots and walking uphill, even when progress feels like a snail on a treadmill.

Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow – that is patience. The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. ~ Leo Tolstoy

Reflection:

Tolstoy cuts through the fluff: patience isn’t passive. It’s not sitting in a chair hoping for better days—it’s doing the hard thing with grit and grace, even when results are slow to appear. True patience walks hand in hand with determination. It’s the decision to keep going when your legs are tired, your heart is uncertain, and the path is uphill. Time may not move at our pace, but it always moves—and patience walks with it like a trusted friend. In the long game of life, patience isn’t weakness—it’s strength dressed in quiet clothes. So when the journey drags, don’t mistake slowness for failure. You’re still moving. And that makes you one of life’s most powerful warriors.

Light for the Journey: Forget Muscles—These Two Warriors Will Crush Anything

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In a world obsessed with speed and shortcuts, Tolstoy reminds us that true strength doesn’t rush. Time and patience aren’t flashy—but they’re undefeated.

“The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.”― Leo Tolstoy

Reflection:

We often chase instant results, forgetting that the greatest transformations unfold slowly—like mountains carved by wind, or hearts healed by days turning into years. Time doesn’t hurry, and patience doesn’t flinch. Together, they remind us that endurance is a superpower, and lasting strength isn’t loud—it’s steady.

Today’s Quote: Hey, 21st Century—Put Down the Phone and Look Up

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Leo Tolstoy’s advice is older than Instagram and wiser than your favorite productivity guru: Stop. Breathe. Look around. Your soul is not a machine—maybe it just needs a moment to remember it’s alive.

“If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” ― Leo Tolstoy

In a world that worships hustle, Tolstoy gives us something truly radical: permission to pause. Not just to catch our breath, but to truly see—the beauty, the suffering, the miracle of being alive. To look around is to return to ourselves, to others, and to the sacred rhythm that doesn’t ask for speed, only presence.

❓ Three Reflective Questions:

  1. When was the last time you truly paused without checking a screen?
  2. What beauty or truth might you be missing by staying constantly busy?
  3. How would your life change if you made stillness a daily practice?

Today’s Quote: When You Love Someone

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When you love someone, you love the person as they are, and not as you’d like them to be.” ― Leo Tolstoy

Today’s Quote: It Will Get Better

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There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail, there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out no matter how dark the world becomes. ~ Leo Tolstoy

Thinking Out Loud

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3 Important Life Lessons

Tolstoy’s king in his short story, Three Questions, is disappointed the hermit did not give him the wisdom he sought, He said, ““The King approached him, and said:  “For the last time, I pray you to answer my questions, wise man.”  “You have already been answered!” said the hermit, still crouching on his thin legs, and looking up at the King, who stood before him. “How answered? What do you mean?” asked the King.”

Note: How often have you been disappointed when seeking something you strongly desired? Yet, in retrospect, you look back at your disappointment and have a deep sense of gratitude that you did not get what you wanted. It took a while to realize that everything you wanted was already in front of you. In Tolstoy’s story (I encourage you to read it), the hermit explains to the king how he already had the answers to his questions. The most important time is now. The most important person is the person who is in front of you. The most important action is to do good. Tolstoy provides lessons that can guide everyone’s life.

 

Thinking Out Loud

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Get Ready for the Unexpected

In Leo Tolstoy’s work, Three Questions, the King is fed up with the poor advice of his advisors. Instead, he seeks the advice of a wise hermit.  “The King went up to him and said: “I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important, and need my first attention?”

NOTE: When you’ve had an important decision to make have you sought the advice of friends and  family and come away still not knowing what to do? I have. What do you do when that happens? I recall having this experience early on in my career. I was offered a great job. I knew if I took it my career path was set. I wasn’t quite certain that was the path to take. I turned to a trusted mentor. I went to his office and explained the job offer to him. He smiled at me and said, “Ray, I consult with people in that position all the time and they have one thing in common.” I moved to the edge of my chair waiting for his words of wisdom. I said, “What?” He said, “They don’t smile.” I laughed and said, “You’re right. In that moment, his wisdom, simply stated, influenced me. I went to my office and made the call declining the job. Sometimes it’s better to seek wisdom from those detached from us. When we do, we’d better be ready to hear something totally unexpected.

 

Thinking Out Loud

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Wisdom is Often Hidden

Tolstoy began his short story, Three Questions, ““In reply to the first question, some said that to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance, a table of days, months and years, and must live strictly according to it. Only thus, said they, could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that it was impossible to decide beforehand the right time . . .”

Note: The king in Tolstoy’s tale, Three Questions, begins the search to answer his three questions: When is the right time to act. Who is the most important person to seek? And, what is the most important thing to do?  In his search he sought out the most learned people in his kingdom. They couldn’t agree on what was the right time to act. How often does the confusion held by the king’s advisors seem to be our lot in life. We ask ourselves should I do this, or should I wait? Should I take this job or stay? Should I call my mom or dad or wait? The king was trying to resolve this dilemma. What is the most important time?

Thinking Out Loud

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Beginning today I am reading and thinking about Leo Tolstoy’s short story, Three Questions.

It’s available free at gutenberg.org included in the broader title, What Men Live By, And Other Tales. Tolstoy was a Russian writer and philosopher. His best know works include “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina.”

Tolstoy began his short story, Three Questions, “It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might undertake.”

Note: Tolstoy’s tale begins with a king’s search for wisdom. The king begins his adventure. Each of us, in some way, initiate this adventure each day if we are awake. If we are awake we can search for wisdom in the events, people, and circumstances of our lives. We discover wisdom in the present moment through the interactions we have with all the goings on in our life.

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