In meditation we discover our inherent restlessness. Sometimes we get up and leave. Sometimes we sit there but our bodies wiggle and squirm and our minds go far away. This can be so uncomfortable that we feel’s it’s impossible to stay. Yet this feeling can teach us not just about ourselves but what it is to be human…we really don’t want to stay with the nakedness of our present experience. It goes against the grain to stay present. These are the times when only gentleness and a sense of humor can give us the strength to settle down…so whenever we wander off, we gently encourage ourselves to “stay” and settle down. Are we experiencing restlessness? Stay! Are fear and loathing out of control? Stay! Aching knees and throbbing back? Stay! What’s for lunch? Stay! I can’t stand this another minute! Stay!
Pema Chödron
from the book The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
Read a random quote or see all quotes by Pema Chödron.
Further quotes from the book The Places That Scare You:
- A flexible identity
- Our Shared Humanity
- The first mark of existence
- Everyday uncertainty
- At least until you die
- The anxiety of opening
- Being inspired by everyday good fortune
- Being in the middle of nowhere
- Forgive into freshness
- Compassion takes courage
- The root of happiness
- Threefold purity
- Our true nature and condition
- Abiding in openness
- Happiness
- Dissolving our self-importance
- Dissolving our fear
- The essence of generosity
- Cultivating equanimity
- Doing all with one intention