Karin Karlsson

“Isn't it odd. We can only see our outsides, but nearly everything happens on the inside”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

“The definition of compassion that most accurately reflects what I’ve learned from the research is from American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön. In her book The Places That Scare You, Chödrön writes: When we practice generating compassion, we can expect to experience our fear of pain. Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us….In cultivating compassion we draw from the wholeness of our experience—our suffering, our empathy, as well as our cruelty and terror. It has to be this way. Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
― Brené Brown, Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution.

“this is the recipe of life
said my mother
as she held me in her arms as i wept
think of those flowers you plant
in the garden each year
they will teach you
that people too
must wilt
fall
root
rise
in order to bloom”
― rupi kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

“To diminish the suffering of pain, we need to make a crucial distinction between the pain of pain and the pain we create by our thoughts about the pain. Fear, anger, guilt, loneliness, and helplessness are all mental and emotional responses that can intensify pain. —the Dalai Lama”
― Nancy Bardacke, Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond