Encouragment

"Encountering sufferings will definitely contribute to the elevation of your spiritual practice, provided you are able to transform calamity and misfortune into the path." H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama

Look within. Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way.
Dhammapada, Words of the Buddha

If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion. Zen Master Lin-Chi


Anything that is created must sooner or later die. Enlightenment is permanent because we have not produced it; we have merely discovered it.
Chogyam Trungpa

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part." St. Augustine

“You can shed tears that she is gone,
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her only that she is gone,
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what she'd want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.”
David Harkins

Okay, so maybe this would all be considered "emo" or whatever. Whatever. I just need to remind myself that it's okay if she doesn't come back next year. It's okay if I still care about her and let those feelings grow. I don't need to instantly recoil. Like I said in another post, I need to enjoy life instead of always think about longevity. I'll take things in stride. I will love, if it comes to it, without fear--because the ending never negates the validity and beauty of the experience.