Ours is a society of denial that conditions us to protect ourselves from any direct difficulty and discomfort. We expend enormous energy denying our insecurity, fighting pain, death, and loss, and hiding from the basic truths of the natural world and of our nature. -- Jack Kornfield

Our lives are lived in intense and anxious struggle, in a swirl of speed and aggression, in competing, grasping, possessing and achieving, forever burdening ourselves with extraneous activities and preoccupations. -- Sogyal Rinpoche

Simplifying our lives does not mean sinking into idleness, but on the contrary, getting rid of the most subtle aspect of laziness: the one which makes us take on thousands of less important activities. -- Matthieu Ricard

In a society that almost demands life at double time, speed and addictions numb us to our own experience. In such a society, it is almost impossible to settle into our bodies or stay connected with our hearts, let alone connect with one another or the earth where we live. -- Jack Kornfield

You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. -- Joseph Goldstein

Live is movement. The more life there is, the flexibility there is. The more fluid you are, the more you are alive. -- Arnaud Desjardins

These are from "Offerings: Buddhist Wisdom for Every Day". M gave the book to me last year, but just now trying to catch up on the days (it's a calendar book). These are some of the ones that appealed to me about attitude toward life and our society.

One more, not from "Offerings"

All those who are unhappy in the world are so as a result of their desire for their own happiness. All those who are happy in the world are so as a result of their desire for the happiness of others. -- Shantideva