Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

When things fall apart and we're on the verge of we know not what, the test of each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize.

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

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

The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.