The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something — usually ourselves. When we feel unhappy, when we feel inadequate, we get stingy; we hold on tight. 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 Chödron
from the book The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
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Further quotes from the book The Places That Scare You:
- Cultivating equanimity
- Doing all with one intention
- Stay!
- Whatever we encounter
- Dissolving our fear
- Nothing and no one is fixed
- Life preferences
- Abiding in openness
- The queasy feeling of being in the middle of nowhere
- Idiot Compassion
- The root of happiness
- Our Shared Humanity
- Being in the middle of nowhere
- At least until you die
- Everyday uncertainty
- The anxiety of opening
- Being inspired by everyday good fortune
- The first mark of existence
- Forgive into freshness
- Compassion takes courage