Deep bow to Pema Chödron. There is great wisdom in this teaching. Many years ago when I first began my process of healing and awakening, I thought that each part of myself that I discovered and came to see that I didn't like, often feeling shame about, that this was something that I needed to get rid of so I could "improve" myself. Not true. As my therapist has said, whenever we try to get rid of something within ourselves, this part of ourselves is actually strengthened by the very process of our rejection. Instead of neglecting what we carry in our hearts, we can choose instead to turn toward what is in need of awareness, attention, tenderness, healing, acceptance, and love. I've truly learned that as we gradually come to embrace and feel compassion and love for ourselves and all our foibles (I love this word that Clarissa Pinkola Estés gave me years ago) and bring acceptance, rather than rejection, to where we are, that's when change, healing, and deepening awakening happens. That's when our hearts grow bigger. That's when we come to bring a greater sense of compassion that evolves and deepens for ourselves, which then ultimately becomes something that we are able to bring to the world. Befriending ourselves, befriending each other, befriending our world, is such a loving gift and what I believe is the essence of our human awakening. Bless us all on our journeys. - Molly
Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is to not try to throw ourselves away and become something better, its about befriending who we are already.
The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we study, that's what we come to know with tremendous clarity and interest.
- Pema Chödron
From The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path
of Loving-Kindness
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