As ACP would say, "Ah. Life, life, life."

The funny thing about life is it doesn't stop and wait for life to happen.

I need a couple of days to process some stuff, but in the meantime here are some lovely thoughts that a friend sent, thoughts that she cut and pasted from another friend's thoughts, that I then cut and pasted to share with you...

from Awakening Loving-Kindness, by Pema Chodron:
"When people start to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It's a bit like saying: "If I jog, I'll be a much better person." "If I could meditate and calm down, I'd be a better person." Or the scenario might be that they find fault with others; they might say, "If it weren't for my boyfriend, I'd have a perfect relationship." "If it weren't for the fact that my boss and me can't get on, my job would be just great." And, "if it weren't for my stupid mind, my meditation would be excellent."

But loving-kindness toward ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. It means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become someone better. It's about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you, or me, or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we're here to study; that's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest."

I love the idea of befriending myself. After years of being my own harshest judge, maybe it's time.