After a week which I’ll politely describe as ‘somewhat trying’, I was reminded of a couple of quotes that will always remind me of the right thing to do. I’ve paraphased both here. The first is from Maya Angelou – “Don’t pick it up, so you don’t have to put it down”. She was referring to the ego trip that comes with fame and success, and the sharp fall from grace thereafter, but i think it applies equally well to the stress we all take in; from ourselves and from others. I’ll try not to pick it up.

The second is from Pema Chodron, who advises us to “lean into the sharp corners of life”. What she means is that we should embrace stressful, bad situations, let them engulf us, embrace them, lean into them, so we can deal with them and move on. Too many people, myself included, try to run from such situations. Understandable really. But we must embrace them in order to learn from them.

These two things are easier said than done  - but both sayings can bring comfort and knowledge.

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