January 18, 2014

I have never really understood how I should feel or behave in a relationship.  I didn't have the kind of childhood that would have given me any sort of perspective on what a happy home or relationship would feel like.  You can't live your life blaming your failures on your parents.  You're dealt the cards you're dealt.  I realised it was a waste of time to be angry at my parents and feel sorry for myself. ~ Drew Barrymore

May 06, 2012

We need to be able to forgive ourselves when we stumble or forget, and based on that forgiveness, be able to reconnect to our basic intention.  One of the primary tools we have in spiritual life is the understanding that everything is changing all of the time, that nothing is fixed, and nothing is permanent.  Because of that truth, when we make a mistake we realize that we can begin again. ~ Sharon Salzberg (from "The Force of Kindness")

April 06, 2012

The trigger for much of our anger is frustrated expectation.  We sometimes invest so much of ourselves in a project that when it doesn't turn out as it should we become irate.  All "shoulds" point to an expectation, a prediction for the future.  We might have realized by now that the future is uncertain, unpredictable.  Relying too much on an expectation for the future, a "should," is asking for trouble. ~ Ajahn Brahm (from "Opening the Door of Your Heart")

November 01, 2011

My goal in life is to not wake up at the age of 40 with a bitter realization that I've wasted my entire life at a job that I hate because I was forced to decide on a career in my teens. ~ Unknown

May 05, 2011

Realization doesn't destroy the individual any more than the reflection of the moon breaks a drop of water.  A drop of water can reflect the whole sky. ~ Dogen

August 10, 2010

Christians are quick to scoff at the absurdity of other religions when most fail to realize they worship a book that contains talking snakes, bushes, and donkeys. ~ Unknown