Awakening Loving-Kindness

Fall Magnolia
Originally uploaded by Seeking Tao

Packing up to go home after a rather hard day here at work, I noticed tucked in the side of my briefcase a small book by Pema Chondron entitled, “Awakening Loving-Kindness.”

It struck me as a rather curious little thing to come across. I am not her student. I must have been carrying it around for months, unnoticed under the file “automotive repair records.” But, I felt such immediate quietness just in looking at the title.

So, I pulled it out.

Opened it to the first pages (I who usually read from the back forwards) and there I found these words highlighted in bright yellow:

There’s a common misunderstanding among all the human beings who have ever been born on the earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable…

A much more interesting, kind, adventurous, and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our inquisitiveness is bitter or sweet.

To lead a life that goes beyond pettiness and prejudice and always wanting to make sure that everything turns out on our own terms, to lead a more passionate, full, and delightful life than that, we must realize that we can endure a lot of pain and pleasure for the sake of finding out who we are and …how the whole thing just is.

If we are committed to comfort at any cost, as soon as we come up against the least edge of pain, we’re going to run; we’ll never know what’s beyond that particular barrier or wall or fearful thing…

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


Thank you, Pema. I needed to remember this.
Today was a hard day.
And that’s OK.
It's Ok.