Start Where You Are...

Granville Island Fruit - Lorna Ketler '08
I was searching for some inspiration this evening and came upon this article by Pema Chodron - I've been reading a couple of her books and find her words food for my soul. It sometimes requires a different way of looking at ourselves, our ego and the world. Click anywhere on the quote for the full article and others' on different topics. I love the title, "Start Where You Are".

"Love and compassion are like the weak spots in the walls of ego. If we connect with even one moment of good heart and cherish it, our ability to open will gradually expand. The Buddhist term bodhicitta means completely open heart and mind. Citta is translated as heart or mind; bodhi means awake...

...A good way for any of us to do this (melting our frozen heart) is to think of a person toward whom we feel appreciation or love or gratitude. In other words, we connect with the warmth that we already have. If we can't think of a person, we can think of a pet, or even a plant. Sometimes we have to search a bit. But as Trungpa Rinpoche used to say, Everybody loves something. Even if it's just tortillas. The point is to touch in to the good heart that we already have and nurture it. At other times we can think of a person or situation that automatically evokes compassion. Compassion is our capacity to care about others and our wish to alleviate their pain. It is based not on pity or professional warmth, but on the
acknowledgment that we are all in this together. Compassion is a relationship
between equals. So in any moment of hardness, we can connect with the compassion we already have - for laboratory animals, abused children, our friends, our relatives, for anyone anywhere - and let it open our heart and mind in what
otherwise might feel like an impossibly frozen situation. Love and compassion
are like the weak spots in the walls of ego. They are like a naturally occurring
opening. And they are the opening we take. If we connect with even one moment of good heart or compassion and cherish it, our ability to open will gradually
expand. Beginning to tune into even the minutest feelings of compassion or
appreciation or gratitude softens us. It allows us to touch in with the noble
heart of bodhicitta on the spot."

Granville Island Flowers - Lorna Ketler '08