Deep down in the human spirit, there is a reservoir of courage. It is always available, always waiting to be discovered.
PEMA CHODRONWe can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.
More Pema Chodron Quotes
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I can’t overestimate the importance of accepting ourselves exactly as we are right now, not as we wish we were or think we ought to be.
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If you follow your heart, you’re going to find that it is often extremely inconvenient.
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Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. Even if we run a hundred miles an hour to the other side of the continent, we find the very same problem awaiting us when we arrive.
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Resisting what is happening is a major cause of suffering.
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Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic-this is the spiritual path.
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The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.
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Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back.
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Never give up on yourself. Then you will never give up on others.
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Let your curiosity be greater than your fear.
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Meditation isn’t really about getting rid of thoughts, it’s about changing the pattern of grasping on to things, which in our everyday experience is our thoughts.
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Each person’s life is like a mandala – a vast, limitless circle. We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear and think forms the mandala of our life … everything that shows up in your mandala is a vehicle for your awakening.
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In the end, that’s what we all need more than anything else: to be there for each other, in every kind of situation.
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It isn’t the things that are happening to us that cause us to suffer, it’s what we say to ourselves about the things that are happening. The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.
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All the wars, all the hatred, all the ignorance in the world come out of being so invested in our opinions.
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Whatever happens in your life, joyful or painful, do not be swept away by reactivity. Be patient with yourself and don’t lose your sense of perspective.
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If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.
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Let difficulty transform you. And it will. In my experience, we just need help in learning how not to run away.
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One of the deepest habitual patterns that we have is to feel that now is not enough.
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Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.
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By the way that we think and by the way that we believe in things, in that way our world is created.
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Every moment is unique, unknown, completely fresh.
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We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can’t relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased.
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Openness doesn’t come from resisting our fears but rather from getting to know them well.
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We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.
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The central question of a warrior’s training is not how we avoid uncertainty and fear but how we relate to discomfort.
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Appreciate everything, even the ordinary. Especially the ordinary.
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