“Happiness lies not in finding what is missing, but in finding what is present.”

There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.

Self-judgment continues to arise – it’s a strong habit – but the fact that I made a conscious commitment to recognize it has helped me stop feeding the story of being unworthy.

The trance of unworthiness keeps the sweetness of belonging out of reach. The path to “the sweetness of belonging,” is acceptance – acceptance of ourselves and acceptance of others without judgment.

But this revolutionary act of treating ourselves tenderly can begin to undo the aversive messages of a lifetime.

With mindfulness training we are able to recognize when we get lost in our mental dramas, and bring a kind and nonreactive presence to the feelings that accompany them.

Extend an act of kindness each day. No one has to know. It can be a smile, reassuring words, a small favor – without expecting something in return.

On this sacred path of Radical Acceptance, rather than striving for perfection, we discover how to love ourselves into wholeness.

When we open to love, we become love.

Fear of being a flawed person lay at the root of my trance, and I had sacrificed many moments over the years in trying to prove my worth. Like the tiger Mohini, I inhabited a self-made prison that stopped me from living fully.

Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns.

In a basic way, acceptance is seeing clearly what’s happening and holding it with kindness. This is a radical antidote to the suffering of judging mind.

Our attitude in the face of life’s challenges determines our suffering or our freedom.

Become a witness to your thoughts.

Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is.

Imperfection is not our personal problem – it is a natural part of existing.

Emotions are the interaction of thoughts and of sensations in the body.

To me the most important thing is getting into a studio and making an album that is 12 or 14 amazing songs, getting up onstage, and making people happy by livening the rock.

One day the waves will crash around me and take my soul to sea. For on that day death will surround me watching happily.

When we get tired of enjoying all the pleasures within our reach, we have still a resource in thinking of others that are not.

When I joined Nirvana, I was the fifth or sixth drummer – I don’t know if they’d ever had a drummer they were totally happy with. And they were strangers. There was never much of a deeper connection outside of the music.

Simplicity makes me happy.

Somehow in all this grief I found joy. Sharing art with you has made me whole again. And again.

I love the streets, and the streets love me back. And when things ain’t going the way they should go, they let you know… and when they happy, you gotta keep ’em happy.

I hope happiness fills you until the shores that surround you overflow and wash away your pain.