The great Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has written beautifully

about why learning to love others begins with learning to love ourselves —

a sentiment that the reactive modern cynic might dismiss as the vacant fodder of self-help books,

but one which more considered reflection reveals to be deeply truthful and deeply uncomfortable.

What, after all, does loving oneself even mean — particularly if we’re aspiring to be unselfish and generous,

and to outgrow the illusory ego-shell we call a self?

~Maria Popova

and then it became clear….

inquiry for today~ what is true and real today?

simple knowings

There is so much pressure

on us these days

to “feel good”.

But what if it’s exactly

our attempts to “feel good”

that make us feel so… bad?

Conceiving of happiness as a destination

rather than the all-embracing non-dual

present awareness that we are,

we go to war with our unhappiness

and feel guilt and shame around it.

We split ourselves in two

in the name of joy

and we feel very far away from Home.

Stop trying to be happy, then.

Make room in yourself

for a deep unhappiness.

Cry out an ocean

of tears.

And you will know

Great Freedom.

~Jeff Foster