when things fall apart pema chödrön quotes

We want to have security and certainty of some kind when we actually we have no ground to stand on at all.” Step 1. If we don’t like it, we strike out at someone or beat up on ourselves. “We’re so used to running from discomfort, and we’re so predictable.

And when things literally fall apart, that’s when the groundlessness of our lives really freaks us out and we go searching for the warm comfort of perceived control. What comes through crystal clear in When Things Fall Apart is that this is utter nonsense. Yet, my mind always found it’s natural path to strategies that would give me a sense of control. I had been searching for months for a solution that would allow me to breathe again. This isn’t terribly comfortable at first.įor me, I had been in a near-constant battle for more than a year following a volatile divorce. Pema’s teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, aptly frames this as “leaning into the sharp points.” Ultimately, When Things Fall Apart makes a very compelling argument for a personal paradigm shift: an “awakening of a fearlessly compassionate attitude toward our own pain and that of others.” It was also a sincerely helpful book for several book club members as we all experienced the overwhelming negativity resulting from the U.S. The timing was beautiful for me, a new student of meditation having completed my first coaching session in November, as well as setting a wonderful foundation for my mindset as I headed out on my retreat trip to Thailand, a country where 90%+ of the population practices Buddhism.

Because, every once in awhile, or all the time as is my case lately, everything does fall apart. Pema is an American Tibetan Buddhist and much of the book centers around the practice of meditation and making shifts in our beliefs so as to find peace in the midst of the inevitable chaos. I was humbled and a little amazed at how timely and impactful the content. I wasn’t familiar with author Pema Chödrön at the time, but the title was spot on, so I pinned the book for December’s book club selection without so much as glancing at the table of contents.

I guess it was clear that things had seriously fallen apart. When Things Fall Apart was recommended to me by a therapist friend after we caught up on the past year over coffee. Pain is not a punishment pleasure is not a reward.” “Everything that ends is also the beginning of something else.

When things fall apart pema chödrön quotes