Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can’t simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment. We feel that someone else knows what’s going on, but that there’s something missing in us, and therefore something is lacking in our world.
Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look. That’s the compassionate thing to do. That’s the brave thing to do. We can’t just jump over ourselves as if we were not there. It’s better to take a straight look at all our hopes and fears. Then some kind of confidence in our basic sanity arises.
Pema Chödron
from the book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Read a random quote or see all quotes by Pema Chödron.
Further quotes from the book When Things Fall Apart:
- The perfect teacher
- The courage to look at ourselves honestly and gently
- Opening our hearts and minds beyond limit
- Awakening is essential
- Being with us
- Negativity begets negativity
- The path of true awakening
- Finding out what is true
- Flooding the world with your kindness
- Become Familiar with Fear
- Exposing ourselves to annihilation
- Only in our own experience
- Until we got it
- Don’t Set Out to Save the World
- Fully alive
- No fresh air
- Becoming unstuck
- Abandoning hope
- Drive all blames into oneself
- What is in front of us right in the moment