Hope for the future lies in each of us looking within. By learning to feed your hunger, you can overcome the tempting illusions all around you. By discovering who you are, you can stop basing your self-image solely on other people’s ideas about you. By connecting to your inner strength, you can stop cycling between idealistic illusions and self-hating disillusionment. By taking responsibility for yourself, you can stop relying on others to take responsibility for you.
There is no need to become unique. We already are unique. There is no need to become equal. We already are equal. The greatest tragedies of humankind have come from people trying to force sameness on the level we are different, and trying to become different on the level we are the same. Peace is a matter of recognizing what is already there, not creating something new.
There is no way to genuinely, powerfully, truly love yourself while crafting a mask of perfection.
You work so hard to fix yourself, but maybe what you need isn’t another tactic, another book, another expert, another five-step plan. Maybe, you don’t need to be fixed. Maybe, what’s really holding you back is the idea that you need to be fixed. Maybe you just need to let yourself play instead of always making yourself do homework.
When someone is cruel, harsh, mean, to not take their words personally is one thing, but to hear the silent cry within those words is another. This sort of perspective can not only liberate us from crippling self-doubt in the face of criticism, it can also liberate us from automatically becoming blind participants in the interaction patterns that the cruel person has become accustomed to – a favour we do for the other person as much as for ourselves.
When we are in constant pain, we cannot empathize with others, nor can we help them. It is only when we allow ourselves to open up to our own nourishment that we are free to feed the rest of the world. And thus, to attend to one’s own suffering is the most selfless act.
At the end of the day, your relationships with the people in your life will be greater assets than any material things. Take time. Be present. You’ll thank yourself for it later.
Self-understanding is a lifetime endeavour. It is not a weekend seminar. It does not come in capsule form.
Each wave that rolls onto the shore must release back to the ocean. You are the same. Each wave of action you take must release back to the peace within you. Stress is what happens when you resist this natural process. Everyone needs breaks. Denying this necessity does not remove it. Let yourself go. Realize that, sometimes, the best thing to do is absolutely nothing.
Unconditional love goes beyond holding on and letting go. Real love is about truth. It’s about looking at what’s really going on instead of the stories we tell ourselves about it. It’s about being able to love someone from afar, when we need to, because we see that closeness turns us into the worst versions of ourselves.
Our inner wisdom is persistent, but quiet. It will always whisper, but it will never stop knocking at your door.
The most dangerous way we sabotage ourselves is by waiting for the perfect moment to begin. Nothing works perfectly the first time, or the first fifty times. Everything has a learning curve. The beginning is just that – a beginning. Surrender your desire to do it flawlessly on the first try. It’s not possible. Learn to learn. Learn to fail. Learn to learn from failing. And begin today. Begin now. Stop waiting.
It is not how many times we get lost, but how many times we seek the path, again and again, that determines our level of consciousness.
Beautiful isn’t something you become. It’s something you realize you are.
We try so hard to make ourselves lovable, and yet each layer of this mask puts another wall around us – a wall that keeps love out.
Once trust is built, distance cannot kill it. Time and space alone cannot destroy authentic connection.
Most of your healing journey will be about unlearning the patterns of self-protection that once kept you safe.
Your pain is trying to tell you something. It is not an accident, a curse, or an inconvenience. Pain is a form of self-communication.
Some journeys, we must take alone. The caterpillar does not judge itself for craving the cocoon. Do not fear the isolated path. There, you will not be lonely. You will meet yourself.
To spend your time trying to make your body flawless is to waste your time. Even if it appears to match some externalized ideals of perfection for a moment, your physical self will wrinkle and age. Work on your mind. Work on your legacy.