Quotes from Sharon Salzberg

By experimenting with sympathetic joy, we break from the constricted world of individual struggle and see that joy exists in more places than we have yet imagined.

May I be safe. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.

What arises in our experience is much less important than how we relate to what arises in our experience.

great Indian teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj once said, "Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows." "I am nothing" does not mean that there is a bleak wasteland within. It does mean that with awareness we open to a clear, unimpeded space, without center or periphery—nothing separate. If we are nothing, there is nothing at all to serve as a barrier to our boundless expression of love.

We nurture our sense of connection with the larger whole, noticing that the whole is only as healthy as its smallest part.

Great fullness of being, which we experience as happiness, can also be described as love. To be undivided and unfragmented, to be completely present, is to love. To pay attention is to

It's better to do nothing than to waste your time.

The simple act of being completely present to another person is truly an act of love—no drama is required.

To have the kind of openness that cultivates awe does not mean we have to be credulous and sentimental, but the ironic stance—to act unimpressed because we fear looking foolish—has us experiencing our own lives at a distance. If, instead, we open our hearts to real love, we allow ourselves to feel the wonder of life, which research says is vital to sustaining our connection to the world and to one another.

There may be people who absolutely defy our ability (or willingness) to think of even one good thing about them. In that case, focus on the universal wish to be happy, which this difficult person also shares. All beings want to be happy, yet so very few know how. It is out of ignorance that any of us cause suffering, for ourselves or for others.

Real forgiveness in close relationships is never easy. It can't be rushed or engineered.

Forgiveness is the way we break the grip that long-held resentments have on our hearts.

To forgive, we may need to open our minds to a fuller exploration of the context in which the events occurred, and feel compassion for the circumstances and everyone involved, starting with ourselves.

Grief helps us to relinquish the illusion that the past could be different from what it was.

Enough is a feast. If you are terrified, if you feel impoverished within, if you feel perpetually humiliated, enough will never seem like enough. If you are in touch with inner strength, energy, uplift, enough is more than enough -- like a feast.

We're in charge of our own forgiveness, and the process takes time, patience, and intention.

In reality, love is fluid; it's a verb, not a noun.

Forgiveness is a process, an admittedly difficult one that often can feel like a rigorous spiritual practice.

Wholehearted acceptance is a basic element of love, starting with love for ourselves, and a gateway to joy.

Being human can naturally bring many obstacles to our lives. Difficult Gifts is a poignant, touching story of Courtney Burnett's journey through a cancer diagnosis and the spiritual journey that buoyed her through symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. This book can help shape the perspective of all we face, especially now in times of uncertainty!

Maybe we don't need to correct some terrible deficiency. Maybe what we really need is to change our relationship to what is, to see who we are with the strength of a generous spirit and a wise heart.

Telling the story, acknowledging what has happened and how you feel, is often a necessary part of forgiveness.

At times, reality is love's great challenge. When our old stories and dreams are shattered, our first instinct may be to resist, deny, or cling to the way things were. But if we loosen our grip, often what fills the space is a tender forgiveness and the potential for a new and different kind of love.

You can access the forces of mindfulness and lovingkindness at any moment, without anyone knowing you're doing it. You don't have to walk excruciatingly slowly down the streets of a major metropolis alarming everyone around you (in fact, please don't);