The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most important aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just to keep moving.
Pema ChodronRead
Most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape - all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can't stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that many people avoid uncomfortable situations instead of learning from them, leading to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Pema Chodron highlights the tendency of individuals to flee from discomfort rather than confront it. This flight often leads to the development of addictions as a means to soothe the pain instead of experiencing and learning from the challenges that life presents. By recognizing these moments as opportunities for growth, we can break free from the cycle of avoidance and addiction.
Themes
DiscomfortAddictionPainGrowthLearning
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming challenges.
More from Pema Chodron
All quotes →Without giving up hope—that there’s somewhere better to be, that there’s someone better to be—we will never relax with where we are or who we are.
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When we scratch the wound and give into our addictions we do not allow the wound to heal.
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It's said that when we die, the four elements - earth, air, fire and water - dissolve one by one, each into the other, and finally just dissolve into space. But while we're living, we share the energy that makes everything, from a blade of grass to an elephant, grow and live and then inevitably wear out and die. This energy, this life force, creates the whole world.
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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.
Pema ChodronRead
We have two alternatives: either we question our beliefs - or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality- or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in staying open and curious - to train in dissolving our assumptions and beliefs - is the best use of our human lives.
Pema ChodronRead
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