Thoughts become words, therefore, watch

 Watch your thoughts. They become words. Watch your words. They become deeds. Watch your deeds. They become habits. Watch your habits. They become the character. The character is everything.

The thought manifests as the word,

The word manifests as the deed,

The deed develops into habit,

And the habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its way with care,

And let it spring from love

Born out of concern for all beings.

The words above echo what the Buddha said more than 2500 years ago: ‘We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.’ The truth of this verse is timeless: it is truth whether for the past, the present, or the future.