Quotes from Katherine Woodward Thomas

Expectation has been called "the root of all heartache

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor…. Be grateful for whatever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. RUMI

our minds lose their footing when our reality doesn't live up to the way we thought things should go.

feel good when life matches our vision of what we think could and should happen.

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else. RALPH WALDO EMERSON

noticed it at first by the profound feeling of being exposed

What's waking up in me as a result of my rage? How can I use the intensity of this energy to fuel positive change in my life? What rights am I now willing to stand up for?

Feel the feelings. Drop the story. PEMA CHODRON

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. KAHLIL GIBRAN

Grab a plate and throw it on the ground. Okay done. Did it break? Yes. Now say sorry to it. Sorry. Did it go back to the way it was before? No. Do you understand?

And then one day the sadness was gone. In its place was a sense of peace and stillness. I still wasn't thrilled to be single and alone, but ultimately, I was OK with it because I was OK with me. Today

It's only after we have felt the sting of remorse and become present to the costs of our confusion that we're given the chance to redeem ourselves with a pledge to do things differently.

can begin tending to the soft spots of your own tender heart, causing a bittersweet breakthrough in your ability to love yourself even when someone else refuses to. When you use the sheer force of your sorrow to crack open your heart, it promises to drop you down into a deeper capacity for compassion and care for all living beings. You become initiated into your own humanity

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward. C. S. LEWIS

If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were. KAHLIL GIBRAN

We are disturbed not by what happened to us, but by our thoughts about what happened. EPICTETUS

What makes life worth living is being actively engaged in becoming the finest, most delicious human being you can possibly be in this lifetime.

Expectation has been called "the root of all heartache," and certainly, failed expectations are often the root of deep confusion and inner chaos, as well.

Effective grieving, however, turns the love you've been giving another toward yourself.

Our brains much prefer it when we're able to predict the future with accuracy, and so we're inclined to create cultural stories and patterns that allow us to do that. Living happily ever after is one such collective pattern that grants us a sense of predictability and certainty in life and holds the standard for societal harmony.

Love's opposite is not hatred, it's indifference

When you're willing to be with your experience, simply naming your feelings and needs without frantically trying to get rid of them, you're practicing what Buddhists call "mindfulness." It is neither passive nor active, but a deep honoring of your own humanity as you come to terms with the vulnerabilities of having a heart that loves.

I encourage you, therefore, to hold your imperfections tenderly. Value the learning of life lessons as an important part of becoming a wise and mature human being.

brain has but one primary mission: to keep us safe and ensure our survival.