Without giving up hope—that there’s somewhere better to be, that there’s someone better to be—we will never relax with where we are or who we are.

It is possible to move through the drama of our lives without believing so earnestly in the character that we play.

If you work with your mind, instead of trying to change everything on the outside, that's how your temper will cool down.

Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die.

When we touch the center of sorrow, when we sit with discomfort without trying to fix it, when we stay present to the pain of disapproval or betrayal and let it soften us, these are times that we connect with bohdichitta.

Trying to change ourselves doesn't work in the long run because we're resisting our own energy. Self-improvemen t can have temporary results, but lasting transformation occurs only when we honor ourselves as the source of wisdom and compassion.

Suffering begins to dissolve when we can question the belief or the hope that there's anywhere to hide.