Quotes by Sharon Salzberg

It is never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesnt depend on how long it has been running; a shift in perspective doesnt depend on how long youve held on to the old view. When you flip the switch in that attic, it doesnt matter whether its been dark for ten minutes, ten years or ten decades. The light still illuminates the room and banishes the murkiness, letting you see the things you couldnt see before.Its never too late to take a moment to look.

We are all too often told by someone that we are too old, too young, too different, too much the same, and those comments can be devastating.

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what’s happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s happening, stories that get in the way of direct experience. Often such stories treat a fleeting state of mind as if it were our entire and permanent self.

Mindfulness, also called wise attention, helps us see what we’re adding to our experiences, not only during meditation sessions but also elsewhere.

People turn to meditation because they want to make good decisions, break bad habits & bounce back better from disappointments.

Meditation is essentially training our attention so that we can be more aware— not only of our own inner workings but also of what’s happening around us in the here & now.

Because the development of inner calm & energy happens completely within & isn’t dependent on another person or a particular situation, we begin to feel a resourcefulness and independence that is quite beautiful—and a huge relief.

Cultivation of positive emotions, including self-love and self-respect, strengthens our inner resources and opens us to a broader range of thoughts and actions.

Genuine awe connects us with the world in a new way.

Real love allows for failure and suffering.

The starting place for radical re-imagining of love is mindfulness.

The costs of keeping secrets include our growing isolation due to fear of detection and the ways we shut down inside to avoid feeling the effects of our behavior. We can never afford to be truly seen and known—even by ourselves.

A key barometer to help us weigh the rightness of our actions is self-respect.

The wholesome pursuit of excellence feels quite different from perfectionism.

We need the courage to learn from our past and not live in it.

As we explore new ways of thinking, we need to be willing to investigate, experiment, take some risks with our attention, and stretch.

Forgiveness can be bittersweet. It contains the sweetness of the release of a story that has caused us pain, but also the poignant reminder that even our dearest relationships change over the course of a lifetime.

When we respond to our pain and suffering with love, understanding, and acceptance—for ourselves, as well as others— over time, we can let go of our anger, even when we’ve been hurt to the core. But that doesn’t mean we ever forget.

We cannot simply forgive and forget, nor should we.

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.