Our whole spiritual transformation

brings us to the point where we realize

that in our own being,

we are enough.

……Ram Dass

Roshi Joan Halifax speaks of ‘fierce compassion’……..the ability to see ourselves in truth and clarity and kindness……how can we hold ourselves steady?

Sometimes we forget how far we have traveled while we are looking ahead to the next steps. Good to lie
down and remember what it took to get this far, all
those karmic hoops we had to jump through, all those
overcomings. Good to stroke our face with love and
to remind ourselves how much courage it took and
who we would have become if we hadn’t braved the
journey. Good to say ‘thank you’ to the inner spirit
that walks within and beside us, whispering sweet
somethings in our inner ear, reminding us that we are
simply and utterly worth fighting for. We are simply
and utterly worth fighting for…….Jeff Brown

a new kind of tough love

The great angst of modern life is this: No matter how hard we try, no matter how successful we are- it’s never good enough. One response has come in the form of the self-esteem movement. Even when you have high self-esteem, you can’t necessarily keep it. Your self-esteem is likely to fly out the window the next time you blow a big work assignment, can’t zip your pants anymore, or don’t get invited to that big party.  Our sense of self-worth rises and falls in step with our latest success or failure. There is another way to feel good about ourselves that does not involve evaluating how good or worthy we are: self-compassion. Self-compassion is not based on positive evaluations of ourselves. Rather, it is a way of relating to ourselves- extending the same feelings of compassion to ourselves that we typically extend to others……..Kristin Neff