May I be given the appropriate difficulties so that my heart can truly open with compassion. Imagine asking for that.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but organically, through understanding an gradual training.

What would we have to hold in compassion to be at peace right now? What would we have to let go of to be at peace right now?

Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived How well we have loved How well we have learned to let go

The basic principle of spiritual life is that our problems become the very place to discover wisdom and love.

It is the basic principle of spiritual life that we learn the deepest things in unknown territory. Often it is when we feel most confused inwardly and are in the midst of our greatest difficulties that something new will open. We awaken most easily to the mystery of life through our weakest side. The areas of our greatest strength, where we are the most competent and clearest, tend to keep us away from the mystery.