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

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.

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

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.

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

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

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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

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 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.

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.

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

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

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

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

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

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