Today I was beautifully surprised to come across the below passage by Canadian Buddhist nun and author, Pema Chodron on the inconvenience of living authentically and wholeheartedly. I love her message and as she has such a beauty and artistry with words, thought I’d share with you here. May it snuggle into your soul and provide courage to help you stay your course no matter what mud-filled challenges come up along the way.
INCONVENIENCE
“…From an everyday perspective, it seems good to do things that are kind of convenient; there is no problem with that. It’s just that when you really start to take the warrior’s journey – which is to say, when you start to want to live your life fully instead of opting for death, when you begin to feel this passion for life and for growth, when discovery and exploration and curiosity become your path – then basically, if you follow your heart, you’re going to find that it’s often extremely inconvenient….
WHOLEHEARTEDNESS is a precious gift, but no one can actually give it to you. You have to find the path that has heart and then walk it impeccably. In doing that, you again and again encounter your own uptightness, your own headaches, your own falling flat on your face. But in wholeheartedly practicing and wholeheartedly following that path, this inconvenience is not an obstacle. It’s simply a certain texture of life, a certain energy of life. Not only that, sometimes when you just get flying and it all feels so good and you think, “This is it, this is the path that has heart” you suddenly fall flat on your face. Everybody’s looking at you. You say to yourself, “What happened to that path that had heart? This feels like that path full of mud in my face.” Since you are wholeheartedly committed to the warrior’s journey, it pricks you, it pokes you. It’s like someone laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don’t know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart.”
~ The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving-Kindness by Pema Chodron
From my open heart to yours, I am wishing you a beautiful and love-inspired holiday season and end of 2013.