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.
PEMA CHODRONFeelings 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.
More Pema Chodron Quotes
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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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It isn’t what happens to us that causes us to suffer; it’s what we say to ourselves about what happens.
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Openness doesn’t come from resisting our fears but rather from getting to know them well.
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The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.
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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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Deep down in the human spirit, there is a reservoir of courage. It is always available, always waiting to be discovered.
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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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So war and peace start in the human heart. Whether that heart is open or whether that heart closes has global implications.
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The second noble truth says that this resistance is the mechanism of what we call ego, that resisting life causes suffering.
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Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found.
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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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Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.
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Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing.
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When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into it’s dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment.
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Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.
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