Travis

“Conflicts are a normal, natural part of family life, and we should expect them frequently. In fact, research has shown that siblings have a conflict on average once an hour, and, on average, parents have a conflict with their adolescent once a day (Bögels and Restifo 2014). We have so much resistance to conflict, but when we accept that conflicts are normal, it becomes easier to let go of the irritation that arises. Remember that equation, pain x resistance = suffering? It’s time to expect conflict and accept that it’s an inevitable part of human relationships. We don’t have to feel guilty or that it’s somehow our fault when children fight or when we have a conflict with our partner. Conflict is normal.”
― Hunter Clarke-Fields, Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids

“As it turns out, it is often individuals who defy conventional normality who are the healthy ones. The psychologist Abraham Maslow made the investigation of self-actualization—the attainment of authentic satisfaction not based on external valuations—his life’s work. “A study of people healthy enough to be self-actualized,” he wrote in a widely read paper, “revealed that they were not ‘well-adjusted’ (in the naïve sense of approval of and identification with the culture).” These healthy people, suggested Maslow, had a complex relationship with their “much less healthy culture.” Neither conformists nor automatically reflexive rebels, such men and women expressed their unconventionality in ways that kept them true to their inner values, without hostility but not without fight, when that was called for. “An inner feeling of detachment from the culture was not necessarily conscious but was displayed by almost all . . . They very frequently seemed to be able to stand off from it as if they did not quite belong to it.”[14]”
― Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture

“1.​‘Breathing in a long breath, I know I am breathing in a long breath. Breathing out a long breath, I know I am breathing out a long breath.’ 2.​‘Breathing in a short breath, I know I am breathing in a short breath. Breathing out a short breath, I know I am breathing out a short breath.’ 3.​‘Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body. Breathing out, I am aware of my whole body.’ He or she practices like this. 4.​‘Breathing in, I calm my whole body. Breathing out, I calm my whole body.’ He or she practices like this. 5.​‘Breathing in, I feel joyful. Breathing out, I feel joyful.’15 He or she practices like this. 6.​‘Breathing in, I feel happy. Breathing out, I feel happy.’ He or she practices like this. 7.​‘Breathing in, I am aware of my mental formations. Breathing out, I am aware of my mental formations.’ He or she practices like this. 8.​‘Breathing in, I calm my mental formations. Breathing out, I calm my mental formations.’ He or she practices like this. 9.​‘Breathing in, I am aware of my mind. Breathing out, I am aware of my mind.’ He or she practices like this. 10.​‘Breathing in, I make my mind happy. Breathing out, I make my mind happy.’ He or she practices like this. 11.​‘Breathing in, I concentrate my mind. Breathing out, I concentrate my mind.’ He or she practices like this. 12.​‘Breathing in, I liberate my mind. Breathing out, I liberate my mind.’ He or she practices like this. 13.​‘Breathing in, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas. Breathing out, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas.’16 He or she practices like this. 14.​‘Breathing in, I observe the disappearance of desire. Breathing out, I observe the disappearance of desire.’17 He or she practices like this. 15.​‘Breathing in, I observe cessation. Breathing out, I observe cessation.’18 He or she practices like this. 16.​‘Breathing in, I observe letting go. Breathing out, I observe letting go.’19 He or she practices like this.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Breathe, You Are Alive: Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing

“Breathe and you know that you are alive. Breathe and you know that all is helping you. Breathe and you know that you are the world. Breathe and you know that the flower is breathing too. Breathe for yourself and you breathe for the world. Breathe in compassion and breathe out joy. Breathe and be one with the air that you breathe. Breathe and be one with the river that flows. Breathe and be one with the earth that you tread. Breathe and be one with the fire that glows. Breathe and you break the thought of birth and death. Breathe and you see that impermanence is life. Breathe for your joy to be steady and calm. Breathe for your sorrow to flow away. Breathe to renew every cell in your blood. Breathe to renew the depths of consciousness. Breathe and you dwell in the here and now. Breathe and all you touch is new and real. —Annabel Laity”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Breathe, You Are Alive: Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing