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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

Look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Laughing Looks Mirror
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
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
Befriend what’s happening, not just who you’re supposed to be or what the world should be like. This is where you are now. So how do you care for yourself this minute?
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Befriend Care Minute Supposed
Most important, once we study NVC we can’t ignore the potential for transformation that lies in any difficult relationship – if we only bother to communicate with skill and empathy.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Empathy Most Relationship Skill Transformation
We’re creating a little niche for ourselves instead of working the whole canvas.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Creating Littles Niche
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
In every area, working with what you habitually reject is one of the best ways to facilitate growth and transformation.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Growth Transformation Way
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
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
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 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
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
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
Don’t make a whole to-do about it. Don’t get down on yourself be- cause you’re not an expert rower; don’t start reading too many books in order to do it right.
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Book Order Reading
If we weren’t attached we wouldn’t be overwhelmed. It’s endless. And we just take one step after the next
BERNIE GLASSMAN

Attached Next Step Take

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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