At Peace With Suffering

STAY PRESENT, WITHOUT SECURITY"Instead of asking ourselves, “How can I find security and happiness?” we could ask ourselves, “Can I touch the center of my pain? Can I sit with suffering, both yours and mine, without trying to make it go away? Can I stay present to the ache of loss or disgrace—disappointment in all its many forms—and let it open me?” This is the trick."

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Grounding

Thank you Pema. Your advice arrives just as I need it. It doesn't make me any less sad, but it is OK. And being a double negative, perhaps that means it IS OK! Thank you.

Cultivating Compassion

From Pema Chödrön 

http://blog.shambhala.com

Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allowing ourselves to move gently toward what scares us. The trick to doing this is to stay with emotional distress without tightening into aversion; to let fear soften us rather than harden into resistance. We cultivate bravery through making aspirations. We make the wish that all beings, including ourselves and those we dislike, be free of suffering and the root of suffering.