start where you are

My sister Barbara has a generous library and I am lucky enough to do some daytime browsing.

Pema Chodron is an American Buddhist nun and meditation master. Been flipping through her book, Start Where You Are.

This struck me.

The underlying point of all our study and practice is that the happiness we seek is our birthright. To discover it we need to be more gentle with ourselves, more compassionate toward ourselves and our universe. The happiness we seek cannot be found through grasping, trying to hold on to things. It cannot be found through getting serious and uptight about wanting things to go in a direction that we think will bring happiness. We are always taking hold of the wrong end of the stick. The point is that happiness we seek is already here and it will be found through relaxation and letting go rather than through struggle.

Having just made a big decision to change my life, it is something I think I need to remember. Too often we think we know what should happen and round peg/square hole it.

For once, I am trying to let things happen more organically. Something I think we all can consider.