If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.   ~ E.B. White

how do you see yourself? how do others see you? does it matter?

inquiry for today~   what is challenging today? who are your friends today?

the pain of distance

Human differences are enormous: our rhythms, what our bodies like, our aesthetic sense, our emotions, our fears, the way we move and speak and love and rest. There are vast differences of race, culture, class, and values. Without tolerance there is no ground for relationship, no possibility of intimacy. Without tolerance, family life can be unbearable. Temperament and personality all differ dramatically. Without tolerance we would have a society of perpetual conflict, a world of sectarianism and tribalism, of warfare and genocide.

We don’t have to like, let alone love those we tolerate. To prevent further suffering, we may need to respond with great strength. But when our heart is connected with our actions, even this strength can be combined with compassion and understanding.

Tolerance and blamelessness grow when we see the remarkable and strange qualities in each of the lives we touch.    ~Jack Kornfield