“Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if thats all thats happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--lifes painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebodys eyes because you feel you havent got anything to lose--youre just there. The wretchedness humbles us and softens us, but if we were only wretched, we would all just go down the tubes. Wed be so depressed, discouraged, and hopeless that we wouldnt have enough energy to eat an apple. Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.” ― Pema Chödrön, Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 21:44:33 +0000
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