Until we have met the monsters in ourselves, we keep trying to slay them in the outer world. And we find that we cannot. For all darkness in the world stems from darkness in the heart. And it is there that we must do our work.
　　
The mystic does not deny the darkness, in ourselves or in the world, but affirms a light that lies beyond it… We cannot change anything unless we ourselves are willing to change, for whatever problem we see in the world is only there as a reflection of our own internal state.

We cannot give what we do not have: We cannot bring peace to the world if we ourselves are not peaceful. We cannot bring love to the world if we ourselves are not loving. Our true gift to ourselves and others lies not in what we have but in who we are.　(From the book “Everyday Grace” by Marianne Williamson, pp. 13 & 55)