Care about the person, 

not their heedless comment. 

As beings trying to awaken, we strive to be patient, accepting, and caring. Along with many other qualities, all of which are equally invaluable. And equally difficult to do.

If we are fortunate, we will know others who, like us, are working to improve themselves.

Like us, they often fail. Like us, they speak without thinking.

And just like ours, their careless words hurt.

But don’t let them. We can love and care about others while letting go of the heedless things they say. Odds are they’ve spoken hurtful words many times. The sad reality here in samsara is that, caught up in an emotional moment, we usually respond with harsh words. Chaotic thoughts careen through our minds, and we cannot catch our words fast enough before they are uttered. Others do the same thing. So why should we get upset over what they heedlessly said? They probably didn’t think about what they were saying.

And would be very grateful if we didn’t think of them either.

Remaining silent requires less energy than . . . (Click image for video)

We must be willing to give up what we are

 in order to become what we aspire to be. 

To learn how to ride a bike, we had to lift our feet off the ground, place them on the pedals, and then frantically steer the handlebars once our father let go of the bike. We also had to let go—of our fear of crashing. Learning to swim, we had to let go the side of the pool. Going to college, we had to leave home and go live with a bunch of strangers.

Becoming a bike rider, a swimmer, a college student required us to leave what we knew and who we were, and sally forth into the unknown. Essentially, we had to leave a familiar place to arrive at a new one. That venturing forth wasn’t easy.

But venture forth, we did. Why? We were enthralled by the possibility of what we could become. Working to achieve our dreams took courage and imagination. And determination. We deemed the freedom to be gained every time we succeed to be worth the effort.

But someday, we’ll realize that they were nothing compared to the freedom we will gain venturing forth to awakening.