“One man watches a river flow by. If he does not wish it to flow, to change ceaselessly in accord with its nature, he will suffer great pain. Another man understands that nature of the river is to change constantly, regardless of his likes and dislikes, and therefore he does not suffer. To know existence as this flow, empty of lasting pleasure, void of self, is to find that which is stable and free of suffering, to find true peace in the world.” IfsKnowsMenWorldDoeSelfPainSufferingWishPleasureExistenceWatchesFlowRiversEmptyLikesLastingOne ManDislikeVoidStableAnother ManAccordTrue PeaceLikes And Dislikes Author:Ajahn Chah
“What art thou, life, that we, must court thy stay? A breath one single gasp must puff away! A short-lived flower, that with the day must fade! A fleeting vapor, and an empty shade! A stream that silently but swiftly glides To meet eternity's immeasured tides! A being, lost alike by pain or joy? A fly can kill it, or a worm destroy! Impair'd by labor, and by ease undone, Commenced in tears, and ended in a groan.” LifeArtPainJoyLostTearsFlowerLaborEmptyEternityBreathsCourtEaseStreamsShadeFadesTidesWormsFleetingUndonePuffVaporShort Lived Author:Alexander Brome
“In the end, people don't view their life as merely the average of all its moments-which, after all, is mostly nothing much plus some sleep. For human beings, life is meaningful because it is a story. A story has a sense of a whole, and its arc is determined by the significant moments, the ones where something happens. Measurements of people's minute-by-minute levels of pleasure and pain miss this fundamental aspect of human existence. A seemingly happy life maybe empty. A seemingly difficult life may be devoted to a great cause. We have purposes larger than ourselves.” PeopleHumansMayEndsWholeMomentsStoriesHappensPainLife IsPurposeCausesDifficultHuman BeingsSleepPleasureLevelsViewsExistenceMinutesMissingAspectEmptyFundamentalsAverageDeterminedMeaningfulSignificantThings HappenPlusHappy LifeDevotedMeasurementHuman ExistenceArcsPain And PleasureDifficult LifeSignificant Moments Book:Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End Source: Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End
“When our identity expands to include everything, we find a peace with the dance of the world. The ocean of life rises and falls within us - birth and death, joy and pain, it is all ours, and our heart is full and empty, large enough to embrace it all.” WorldHeartEnoughPainJoyFallIdentityBirthOceanEmptyEmbraceBirth And DeathRise And FallJoy And Pain Author:Jack Kornfield
“Everybody's got a hunger no matter where they are. Everybody clings to their own fear. Everybody hides some scar - Precious pain. Empty and cold but it keeps me alive. I gave it my soul so that I could survive - keeping me safe in these chains.” SoulMatterPainAliveColdSafeEmptyHungerChainsMy SoulScar Author:Melissa Etheridge
“How then can we account for the persistence of the myth that inside the empty nest lives a shattered and depressed shell of a woman--a woman in constant pain because her children no longer live under her roof? Is it possible that a notion so pervasive is, in fact, just a myth?” ChildrenFactsPainEmptyAccountsConstantNotionMythPersistenceShellsRoofNestsShatteredEmpty Nest Author:Lillian B. Rubin