One of the qualities that you can develop, particularly in your older years, is a sense of great compassion for yourself. When you visit the wounds within the temple of memory, you should not blame yourself for making bad mistakes that you greatly regret. Sometimes you have grown unexpectedly through these mistakes.

Frequently, in a journey of the soul, the most precious moments are the mistakes. They have brought you to a place that you would otherwise have always avoided. You should bring a compassionate mindfulness to your mistakes and wounds. Endeavor to inhabit the rhythm you were in at that time.

If you visit this configuration of your soul with forgiveness in your heart, it will fall into place itself. When you forgive yourself, the inner wounds begin to heal. You come in out of the exile of hurt into the joy of inner belonging.

~John O’Donohue

when I need to remember who and what and why….

inquiry for today~ what will you say to yourself to re-remember?

simple ways

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing.

In life we think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem.

The real truth is that things don’t really get solved.

They come together for a time, then they fall back apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again.

It’s just like that.

Personal discovery and growth come from letting there be room for all this to happen: room for grief,

for relief, for misery, for joy.

Things are always in transition if we could only realize it.

Nothing ever sums itself up in the way that we like to dream about.

~ Pema Chodron