Pema Chodron Quotes About Uncertainty
-
Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic-this is the spiritual path.
→ -
As human beings, not only do we seek resolution, but we also feel that we deserve resolution. However, not only do we not deserve resolution, we suffer from resolution. We don't deserve resolution; we deserve something better than that. We deserve our birthright, which is the middle way, an open state of mind that can relax with paradox and ambiguity.
→ -
Ordinarily we are swept away by habitual momentum. We don't interrupt our patterns even slightly. With practice, however, we learn to stay with a broken heart, with a nameless fear, with the desire for revenge. Sticking with uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to be cool when the ground beneath us suddenly disappears.
→ -
Each time you stay present with fear and uncertainty, you're letting go of a habitual way of finding security and comfort.
→ -
The central question of a warrior's training is not how we avoid uncertainty and fear but how we relate to discomfort.
→ -
For one day, or for one day for a week, refrain from something you habitually do to run away, to escape. Pick something concrete, such as overeating or excessive sleeping or overworking or spending too much time texting or checking e-mails. Make a commitment to yourself to gently and compassionately work with refraining from this habit for this one day. Really commit to it. Do this with the intention that it will put you in touch with the underlying anxiety or uncertainty that you've been avoiding. Do it and see what you discover.
→ -
The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. . . Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there's some hand to hold: if we just do the right things, someone will appreciate us and take care of us. . . Nontheism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves.
→ -
To stay with that shakiness-to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge-that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic-this is the spiritual path.
→ -
The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.
→ -
Sticking with uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to be cool when the ground beneath us suddenly disappears. We can bring ourselves back to the spiritual path countless times every day simply by exercising our willingness to rest in the uncertainty of the present moment—over and over again.
→ -
What if rather than being disheartened by the ambiguity, the uncertainty of life, we accepted it and relaxed into it?
→
Related Authors
-
-
Pico Iyer Essayist -
Eckhart Tolle Author -
Tara Brach Psychologist -
Jack Kornfield Author -
-
-
-
K. D. Lang Singer-songwriter -
Chogyam Trungpa Teacher -
Sharon Salzberg Author -
Tenzin Palmo Author -
-
Gautama Buddha Founding Figure -
Jon Kabat-Zinn Professor -
Sogyal Rinpoche Lama -
-
-
Nhat Hanh Monk -
