"The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes."

- Pema Chodron

"Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves."

- Pema Chodron

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

- Pema Chodron

"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. To live is to be willing to die over and over again."

- Pema Chodron

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

- Pema Chodron