Real comfort

     “If we’re not at home with the depth of our feelings, we’re likely to skirt the deep feelings of others. Do we love ourselves / others only when we / they are feeling fine?

     Don’t we often try to secure happiness by fortifying ourselves against imperfection?"

        Barasch MI. The Compassionate Life: Walking the Path of Kindness. Berrett-Koehler, 2009.

We all long "for ways of speaking of the human experience of depth, meaning, mystery, moral purpose, transcendence, wholeness, intuition, vulnerability, tenderness, courage, the capacity to love … it arises from the hunger for authenticity, for correspondence between (our) inner and outer lives. … a desire to break through into a more spacious and nourishing conception of the common life we all share. … trust, loyalty, and connection, find place and resonance."

         Parks SD. Big questions, worthy dreams. Mentoring young adults in their search for meaning, purpose, and faith. John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, 2000.

       “Some strengths … authenticity, open-mindedness, perspective, leadership, forgiveness, and spirituality ... may simply require cognitive and emotional maturation in order to appear, but the relevant processes might be speeded along by deliberate intervention.” 

     Ferrari M, Potworowski G, eds. Teaching for Wisdom: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fostering Wisdom. Heidelberg: Springer. 2008.

Photo: Eddie Soloway   http://www.eddiesoloway.com/see/