Best advice ever
Mar. 14th, 2012 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabrinamariCultivating loving-kindness toward yourself
Some people find the teachings I offer helpful because I encourage them to be kind to themselves. The kindness that I learned from my teachers, and that I wish so much to convey to other people, is kindness toward all qualities of our being. The qualities that are the toughest to be kind to are the painful parts, where we feel ashamed, as if we don’t belong, as if we’ve just blown it, when things are falling apart for us. Maitri, or loving-kindness, means sticking with ourselves when we don’t have anything, when we feel like a loser. And it becomes the basis for extending the same unconditional friendliness with others.
Pema Chodron
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This is especially useful for me now. It's been tedious to be stuck inside a mind I haven't particularly liked lately. I've been watching the latest stage in my growth with an almost-disapproval. It's usually very easy for me to see what is most beautiful about the people who surround me. In fact, it's hard for me to focus on much of anything else---it's so much more rewarding to concentrate on what is most admirable about them.
But lately, that ability is lagging. I'm finding it harder to be deeply impressed by almost anyone. It's like being in "anti-NRE" with the world. I really miss my old self, the person who loved everyone and saw the beauty in everything with no effort at all. And it's hard not to disapprove of this weary, jaded mindset. But once again, Pema reminds me to have compassion for myself, and just be patient. I can do that.
Some people find the teachings I offer helpful because I encourage them to be kind to themselves. The kindness that I learned from my teachers, and that I wish so much to convey to other people, is kindness toward all qualities of our being. The qualities that are the toughest to be kind to are the painful parts, where we feel ashamed, as if we don’t belong, as if we’ve just blown it, when things are falling apart for us. Maitri, or loving-kindness, means sticking with ourselves when we don’t have anything, when we feel like a loser. And it becomes the basis for extending the same unconditional friendliness with others.
Pema Chodron
****
This is especially useful for me now. It's been tedious to be stuck inside a mind I haven't particularly liked lately. I've been watching the latest stage in my growth with an almost-disapproval. It's usually very easy for me to see what is most beautiful about the people who surround me. In fact, it's hard for me to focus on much of anything else---it's so much more rewarding to concentrate on what is most admirable about them.
But lately, that ability is lagging. I'm finding it harder to be deeply impressed by almost anyone. It's like being in "anti-NRE" with the world. I really miss my old self, the person who loved everyone and saw the beauty in everything with no effort at all. And it's hard not to disapprove of this weary, jaded mindset. But once again, Pema reminds me to have compassion for myself, and just be patient. I can do that.
