Pema Chödrön

"When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into its dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment, or awakening to our true nature, to our fundamental goodness."

- Pema Chödrön

"This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion."

- Pema Chödrön

"This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can humble us when we’re arrogant and soften us when we are unkind."

- Pema Chödrön

"Be kind to yourself, and then let your kindness fill the world."

- Pema Chödrön

"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity."

- Pema Chödrön

"Compassion isn’t some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we’re trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don’t even want to look at."

- Pema Chödrön

"Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world."

- Pema Chödrön

"You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather."

- Pema Chödrön

"It’s OK to be angry. It’s never OK to be cruel. In disagreements with others, deal only with the present situation. Don’t bring up the past."

- Pema Chödrön

"The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves."

- Pema Chödrön

"You are the sky – everything else is just weather."

- Pema Chödrön

"When things start to fall apart in your life, you feel as if your whole world is crumbling. But actually it’s your fixed identity that’s crumbling. And that’s cause for celebration."

- Pema Chödrön

"A further sign of health is that we don’t become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it’s time to stop struggling and look directly at what’s threatening us."

- Pema Chödrön

"Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there's a big disappointment, we don't know if that's the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure. Life is like that. We don't know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don't know."

- Pema Chödrön

"All you need to know is that the future is wide open and you are about to create it by what you do."

- Pema Chödrön

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

- Pema Chödrön

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

- Pema Chödrön

"Now is everything; live accordingly and mindfully."

- Pema Chödrön