I needed a little Pema wisdom this morning and figured it was worth sharing. I’ve posted part of this on Beyond Meds before.
When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they’re going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It’s a bit like saying,
“If I jog, I’ll be a much better person.”
“If I could only get a nicer house, I’d be a better person.”
“If I could meditate and calm down, I’d be a better person.”Or the scenario may be that they find fault with others; they might say, “If it weren’t for my husband, I’d have a perfect marriage.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that my boss and I can’t get on, my job would be just great.”
And “If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent.”
But loving-kindness -maitri- toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest. — from The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving-Kindness
If you need more of a Pema fix I’ve got lots of her words of wisdom on this blog: Pema Chodron
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Books by Pema Chödrön
● When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
● Unconditional Confidence: Instructions for Meeting Any Experience with Trust and Courage
● Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears
● The Pema Chodron Audio Collection: Pure Meditation:Good Medicine:From Fear to Fearlessness
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