The sad part is that all we're trying to do is not feel that underlying uneasiness. The sadder part is that we proceed in such a way that the uneasiness only gets worse. The message here is that the only way to ease our pain is to experience it fully. Learn to stay. Learn to stay with uneasiness, learn to stay with the tightening, learn to stay with the itch and urge of shenpa, so that the habitual chain reaction doesn't continue to rule our lives, and the patterns that we consider unhelpful don't keep getting stronger as the days and months and years go by.

This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we go.

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

Unconditional good heart toward others is not even a possibility unless we attend to our own demons.

Patience is the training in abiding with the restlessness of our energy and letting things evolve at their own speed.

It is only when we begin to relax with ourselves that meditation becomes a transformative process. Only when we relate with ourselves without moralizing, without harshness, without deception, can we let go of harmful patterns. Without maitri (metta), renunciation of old habits becomes abusive. This is an important point.

Use your life to wake you up.