Focus on the Permanent

In Walden, Thoreau quoted from the Gulistan, or Flower Garden, of Sheik Sadi of Shiraz:

Fix not thy heart on that which is transitory…

Vegetarians like to say they won’t eat anything with a face. You may not be a vegetarian (I’m not), but if you are looking for a rule of thumb for what is transitory and what is permanent, this is a good one: Does it have a face? Can it say “I love you?”