looking at the stars

We are all in the gutter, 

but some of us are looking at the stars. 

~ Oscar Wilde

  "His mom smiled, and pointed to a bulletin board next to her desk. Unlike the refrigerator at home, it had just one quote taped to it.
   Ben read it out loud: "'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'"
   Because his mom was the town librarian, Ben was used to being surrounded by quotes from books, many of which he didn't fully understand. But this one struck him as particularly strange.
   He thought about it for a moment, came up with nothing, then said, "What does that mean?"
   His mom smiled and shrugged.
   He was sure she knew exactly what it meant, but she liked him to figure out things for himself."

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

It is one of those weeks when I notice that I have stumbled into the gutter further than usual. And yet, once I notice that fact, I can simply look up and there they are... the stars. They are still there; and they always have been.

Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don't worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only clear mind. Thinking comes and goes, comes and goes, You must not be attached to the coming or the going.

— Zen Master Seung Sahn