I read a great quote today at sourcesofinsight.com that has inspired my entire post today. It was by Pema Chodron, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and author and it reads:

"Only to the extent that we expose ourselves, over and over to annihilation, can that which is indestructible be found in us."

Isn't that a great quote! And it got me thinking, in the midst of planning a garage sale and moving my mother into a new house and grieving my father and job-hunting, (boy I'm busy right now!) how important it is, in managing one's stress, to be true to oneself. So much of the complexity of life is based on the expectations of others, isn't it? At one time sure, survival was just a matter of foraging for food, building a shelter and not getting eaten by anything big and hairy ("just"), but now,  now survival is about making the boss happy and the customers happy and the spouse happy and the children happy and the In-Laws happy and then society at large of course and the government and...WHEW!!! Complicated.

It's crazy! And it's enough to make you feel crazy. But then that is the world we live in...a complicated one. But as I've been dealing with the obligations of my father dying I've been put in a situation where EVERYONE has expectations to consider, and with emotions running high, that can be tricky. But what I've learned through handling this, is that there is a difference between catering to other people's expectations and working with them. Catering doesn't include you. And it will have you running around until you are headed straight towards annihilation. Working with people's expectations is about accepting that the expectation's of other will need to be addressed, but also about including your own expectations into the mix and compromising between them both. This quote has a much bigger application in life of course, but today it has reminded me to stay open to events and other people, even if they hurt, because through them, I find my boundaries and the opportunity to honor the things in me which are pure and indestructible. When you know yourself, life becomes REALLY SIMPLE.

Take care of yourselves,
Nina


Oh and if you have any great quotes on simplicity, I'd love to hear them in the comments. I was thinking it would be great to write a post on a collection of the best quotes on Slow Living and Simplicity that we could find so please share and we can gather some great inspiration for everyone!