We practice to liberate ourselves from a burden.

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

Feel the wounded heart that's underneath the addiction, self-loathing, or anger.

Without loving-kindness for ourselves, it is difficult, if not impossible, to genuinely feel it for others.

We can put our whole heart into whatever we do; but if we freeze our attitude into for or against, we're setting ourselves up for stress. Instead, we could just go forward with curiosity, wondering where this experiment will lead. This kind of open-ended inquisitiveness captures the spirit of enthusiasm, or heroic perseverance.

The essence of practice is always the same: instead of falling prey to a chain reaction of revenge or self-hatred, we gradually learn to catch the emotional reaction and drop the story lines.

In a nutshell, when life is pleasant, think of others. When life is a burden, think of others.