The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about yourself and the way a person responds to you says more about them, than about you.

We create a mask to meet the masks of others. Then we wonder why we cannot love, and why we feel so alone.

Who you are is always enough. If your partner wants something different, it does not reflect upon you, but upon their needs and fantasies.

Consider for a moment what you pay attention to all day long. What seems important to you, what do you take for granted and hardly attend to at all? Write it down. Do not judge your answers. Be honest and simple. As you keep track all week long, you'll be amazed at what claims your attention, what you give your precious life force to.

Relying on another is an expression of attachment, not love, a manifestation of insecurity and suffering, not understanding the true nature of our lives.

Another simple and powerful way to dissolve problems is not to dwell upon the outcome of your actions. Instead, learn to value each action (no matter how small or large), to do it with complete attention. Your joy and satisfaction comes from doing each action with a whole heart and mind. Results and consequences then take care of themselves. When you are not absorbed by concern for outcomes, how much anxiety can you ever have?

We turn pain into suffering by adding on all kinds of beliefs, interpretations and judgments to it.