There's nothing more important on our spiritual path than developing gentleness to oneself. Pema Chodron More Quotes by Pema Chodron More Quotes From Pema Chodron Generosity is an activity that loosens us up. By offering whatever we can - a dollar, a flower, a word of encouragement - we are training in letting go. Pema Chodron encouragementflowerletting-go Inner # peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your # emotions Pema Chodron inner-peacepeace-of-mindevents For one day, or for one day for a week, refrain from something you habitually do to run away, to escape. Pick something concrete, such as overeating or excessive sleeping or overworking or spending too much time texting or checking e-mails. Make a commitment to yourself to gently and compassionately work with refraining from this habit for this one day. Really commit to it. Do this with the intention that it will put you in touch with the underlying anxiety or uncertainty that you've been avoiding. Do it and see what you discover. Pema Chodron sleeprunningcommitment Being satisfied with what we already have is a magical golden key to being alive in a full, unrestricted, and inspired way. Pema Chodron goldenalivekeys Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found. Pema Chodron determinationlifecommitment The future is completely open and we are writing it moment to moment. Pema Chodron momentslive-in-the-momentwriting Let difficulty transform you. And it will. In my experience, we just need help in learning how not to run away. Pema Chodron helpingrunningneeds All you need to know is that the future is wide open and you are about to create it by what you do. Pema Chodron wideknowsneeds 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. Pema Chodron warrioreverydayinspire As our kindness for ourselves grows, so does our kindness for other people. Pema Chodron doekindnesspeople 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 Chodron taught-usrunningneeds We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can't relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased. Pema Chodron relaxchoicessuffering Don’t worry about achieving. Don’t worry about perfection. Just be there each moment as best you can. Pema Chodron momentsperfectionworry Rejoicing in the good fortune of others is a practice that can help us when we feel emotionally shut down and unable to connect with others. Rejoicing generates good will. Pema Chodron down-andpracticehelping All the wars, all the hatred, all the ignorance in the world come out of being so invested in our opinions. Pema Chodron hatredignorancewar You build inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts. Pema Chodron delightfulinner-strengthdifficult Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquillity, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes. Pema Chodron meditation-practiceselfspiritual The central question of a warrior's training is not how we avoid uncertainty and fear but how we relate to discomfort. Pema Chodron discomfortwarriortraining Obstacles are our friends: they teach us where we're stuck. Pema Chodron stuckobstaclesteach Ordinarily we are swept away by habitual momentum. We don't interrupt our patterns even slightly. With practice, however, we learn to stay with a broken heart, with a nameless fear, with the desire for revenge. Sticking with uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to be cool when the ground beneath us suddenly disappears. Pema Chodron revengepracticeheart
