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Our work may be important, but we don’t take it too seriously. Otherwise, we get attached to one relatively small thing and ignore the rest of life.

Bernie Glassman

Our tendency in life is to avoid things that frighten us. But in order to become whole, we need to go deeper and deeper into ourselves by reaching further and further into the things we fear.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Fear Needs Order Ourselves
Sometimes you come to a fall and sometimes you come to white water. Your rowing has to adapt to the situation.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Fall Rocks Wind
People get stuck a lot because they’re afraid to act; in the worst case,…we get so attached to some end result that we can’t function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn’t wait.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Moving People Waiting
Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning…look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Laughter Morning Wisdom
The basic problem, actually, is how to get rid of the idea that we’re going to get rid of our problems. Only then can we relate directly with the real issues of our life.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Ideas Issues Problem Real Relate
I always have this red nose in my pocket, and if it looks like I’m taking things too seriously, or the person I’m talking to is taking them too seriously, I put the nose on. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing or talking about, it doesn’t matter if we agree or disagree, the nose changes everything.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Looks Pockets Talking
Each of is an arm of Kannon, enabling Kannon to do her work. Like her, we’re also overwhelmed, but when we reallize that the millions of pieces are all operating as one, then there’s no problem.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Compassion Goal Pieces
The extraordinary language of Nonviolent Communication is changing how parents relate to children, teachers to students, and how we all related to each other and even to ourselves. It is precise, disciplined, and enormously compassionate.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Children Lying Teacher
In that state you’ve immediately raised the mind of compassion, because if nothing is in, everything is in, and you are now free to experience yourself as the world.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Compassion Experience Immediately Mind World
You can’t do the same stroke coming down a small stream as you would coming down Niagara Falls.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Falls Small Steam Strokes
When you care about perfection, you care about an expectation. But there is also caring for where I am right now, for what’s happening right now.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Book Caring Teacher
When I spend time with students, they tell me that they’ve read something in a book or heard something from a teacher that they don’t think they’re living up to. And I tell them, “Take care of yourself right now.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Book Care Living Something Spend Take Teacher Tell
When we go… to bear witness to life on the streets, we’re offering ourselves. Not blankets, not food, not clothes, just ourselves.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Bears Clothes Offering
When we bear witness, when we become the situation – homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death – the right action arises by itself. We don’t have to worry about what to do.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Buddhist Death Inspirational
When we don’t ask, we don’t let others give. When we fear rejection, we don’t let generosity arise.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Generosity Giving Rejection
I honor businesses for what they do, I honor nonprofits for what they do, I honor government for what it does, and then I invite everyone to the table so that together we can come up with innovative and broad-based solutions that can serve as many people as possible.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Business Everyone Government Together

Our work may be important, but we don’t take it too seriously. Otherwise, we get attached to one relatively small thing and ignore the rest of life.

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Our work may be important, but we don’t take it too seriously. Otherwise, we get attached to one relatively small thing and ignore the rest of life.

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Popular Authors

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