Unnoticed, thoughts have great power.

We are artists, and life, itself, is our medium.

Love your crooked neighbor with all your crooked heart. W.H. AUDEN

Justifying feelings is quite different than being mindful of them. From justifying comes a strong feeling of self-righteousness.

We might think of the mind as being like clear, open space. All kinds of things can arise there, but the space itself is not affected.

By making right speech an active part of our spiritual path, we can bring wisdom and sensitivity to what we say.

It is important to see compassion as a practice. Sometimes we may feel it, sometimes not. At times, the suffering we encounter may seem too much and we may need to back off, close off a little, to prevent being overwhelmed. At such times, we need to create a space where we can regain our strength and balance. From a place of renewed strength, we ca

sees the whole parade of feelings, however intense, without getting lost in them, and without judging ourselves for feeling them.

Opening to suffering is the doorway to compassion;