To live fully is to let go and die with each passing moment, and to be reborn in each new one.

We need to learn how to honor and use a practice for as long as it serves us—which in most cases is a very long time—but to look at it as just that, a vehicle, a raft to help us cross through the waters of doubt, confusion, desire, and fear.

When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice. Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless. Only here can we find the love that we seek. Love in the past is simply memory, and love in the future is fantasy. Only in the reality of the present can we love, can we awaken, can we find peace and understanding and connection with ourselves and the world.

With mindfulness, we are learning to observe in a new way, with balance and a powerful disidentification.

Knowledge and achievements matter little if we do not yet know how to touch the heart of another and be touched.

Love is based on our capacity to trust in a reality beyond fear, to trust a timeless truth bigger than all our difficulties.

Yet I knew that spiritual practice is impossible without great dedication, energy, and commitment.