QUOTE

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.

Written by

Pema Chödrön

Published on

Jul 23, 2023

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Marcus Aurelius

Roman Emperor. Philosopher. Journaler.

Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire during one of its most turbulent periods — and met it with uncommon reflection and calm. His personal notes, collected in Meditations, were never meant for an audience. But today, they remain one of the most powerful testaments to inner clarity, humility, and strength.

More quotes from Pema Chödrön

The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.

Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don’t know.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.

To live fully is to be always in no-man’s land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh.

You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.

The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.

Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don’t know.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.

To live fully is to be always in no-man’s land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh.

You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.

The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.

You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don’t know.

Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

To live fully is to be always in no-man’s land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh.

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.

We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.