Kristy

“I worshipped dead men for their strength, forgetting I was strong.”
― Vita Sackville-West

“We could never have hit it off for long. There was never anything but love to keep us together.”
― Vita Sackville-West, The Edwardians

“And if you don’t underestimate me, I won’t underestimate you.”
― Bob Dylan, The Lyrics: Since 1962

“The function of mindfulness is, first, to recognize the suffering and then to take care of the suffering. The work of mindfulness is first to recognize the suffering and second to embrace it. A mother taking care of a crying baby naturally will take the child into her arms without suppressing, judging it, or ignoring the crying. Mindfulness is like that mother, recognizing and embracing suffering without judgement.

So the practice is not to fight or suppress the feeling, but rather to cradle it with a lot of tenderness. When a mother embraces her child, that energy of tenderness begins to penetrate into the body of the child. Even if the mother doesn't understand at first why the child is suffering and she needs some time to find out what the difficulty is, just her acto f taking the child into her arms with tenderness can alreadby bring relief. If we can recognize and cradle the suffering while we breathe mindfully, there is relief already.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Mud, No Lotus: Hardcover Gift Edition: The Art of Transforming Suffering