Thursday, February 20, 2025

My thoughts on Pema Chodron's quote below.

It often seems easy to let difficult situations become even more challenging. We try to fight against them or alter them. Life's ups and downs mean that one day everything might be wonderful, while the next, it feels like everything is unraveling. This is certainly true for experiences like grief, but how does it relate to our everyday annoyances? Personally, instead of a wave, it feels more like a fire. My insides feel like they're on fire, and I feel as if I'm about to burst. My instinct is to escape, to run far away. But sometimes, I end up fueling the fire, making it worse.

I wonder what would happen if I changed my perspective? How can I grow? How can my world expand? I think I’m going to lean in, watch the flames dance, perhaps get burned, but most importantly, see what I can learn.

“In life we think the that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem. The real truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together for a time, then they fall back apart. Then they come together and fall apart again. It’s just like that.

Personal discovery and growth come from letting there be room for all this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Suffering comes from wishing things were different. Misery is self-inflicted, when we are expecting the “idea” to overcome the “actual,” or needing things (or people, or places) to be different for us so we can then be happy.

Let the hard things in life break you. Let them effect you. Let them change you. Let those hard moments inform you. Let this pain be your teacher. The experiences of your life are trying to tell you something about yourself. Don’t cop out on that. Don’t run away and hid under your covers. Lean into it.

What is the lesson in the wind? What is the storm trying to tell you? What will you learn if you face it with courage? With full honesty and – lean into it.”

Pema Chodron