“While happiness is an end in itself, it is also the state of mind we can have right now.”

Effort is the unconstrained willingness to persevere through difficulty.

Even when we do our very best to treat those close to us with utmost respect and understanding, conflict happens. That’s life. That’s human nature.

If we turn away from our own pain, we may find ourselves projecting this aversion onto others, seeing them as somehow inadequate for being in a troubled situation.

over time, offering loving kindness to all beings everywhere, including ourselves, unites us to one another so that we know that we can not go forward forgetting those left behind.

We don’t need any sort of religious orientation to lead a life that is ethical, compassionate & kind.

Mindfulness is the agent of our freedom. Through mindfulness we arrive at faith we grow in wisdom & we attain equanimity.

People turn to meditation because they want to make good decisions, break bad habits & bounce back better from disappointments.

For any marginalized group to change the story that society tells about them takes courage and perseverance.

Vulnerability in the face of constant change is what we share, whatever our present condition.

Forgiveness is a personal process that doesn’t depend on us having direct contact with the people who have hurt us.

If we truly loved ourselves, we’d never harm another. That is a truly revolutionary, celebratory mode of self-care.

Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

Meditation may be done in silence & stillness, by using voice & sound, or by engaging the body in movement. All forms emphasize the training of attention.

When you flip the switch in that attic, it doesn’t matter whether its been dark for ten minutes, ten years or ten decades.

The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.

Metta sees truly that our integrity is inviolate, no matter what our life situation may be. We do not need to fear anything. We are whole: our deepest happiness is intrinsic to the nature of our minds, and it is not damaged through uncertainty and change.

When you write me into your story, don’t set my end in stone. Feel free to let me go. I’d like to join your story, but remember I have my own.

Time began when you were born. It will end when you die.

If only we knew which goodbyes were our last.

To exercise no-thought and rest in nothing is the first step toward resting in Tao. To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao.

In the end, what matters is how you lived your life. Were you happy? Did you love enough? Did you reach for the stars?

Maybe not this year or the next but one day they’d end up married. In this lifetime and every one after it. Just knowing that I’d get to watch them find each other and fall in love in every life made me smile.

Everybody knows that I am not usually patient enough to actually sit down and watch one of my own films from the beginning to the end – I never do.

Some relationships don’t end well, but you will learn love from everything.