The happiness we seek is our birthright. To discover it we need to be more gentle with ourselves, more compassionate toward ourselves and our universe. The happiness we seek cannot be found through grasping, trying to hold on to things. It cannot be found through getting serious and uptight about wanting things to go in the direction we think will bring happiness. We are always taking hold of the wrong end of the stick. The point is that the happiness we seek is already here and it will be found through relaxation and letting go rather than through struggle.

Pema Chödron

from the book Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living

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Further quotes from the book Start Where You Are:

• Moving away from comfort and security
• Self-liberate even the antidote
• Bottomless heart
• Underneath there’s something extremely soft
• You are guaranteed to be burned
• Teachings 24/7
• Communication without agenda
• Compassion along the path
• Where Do Thoughts Come From
• Learning from everything
• Gloriousness and wretchedness