Awareness is the key. Do we see the stories that we're telling ourselves and question their validity? When we are distracted by strong emotion, do we remember that it is our path? Can we feel the emotion and breathe it into our hearts for ourselves and everyone else? If we can remember to experiment like this even occasionally, we are training as a warrior. And when we can't practice when distracted but KNOW we can't, we are still training well. Never underestimate the power of compassionately recognizing what's going on.

Anything we experience, no matter how challenging, can become an open pathway to awakening.

The idea of karma is that you continually get the teaching that you need to open your heart.

Searching for happiness prevents us from ever finding it.

Every moment is incredibly unique and fresh, and when we drop into the moment, as meditation allows us to do, we learn how to truly taste this tender and mysterious life that we share together.

When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless.

If it's painful, you become willing not just to endure it but also to let it awaken your heart and soften you. You learn to embrace it.