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

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.

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

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

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

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.

The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain.

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.

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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

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

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.

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

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

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

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

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

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.