real love began when we both stopped expecting and instead focused on giving - Yung Pueblo

Curiosity is especially useful when intense emotions arise. When we encounter sadness, for instance, we can ask ourselves where it is coming from. When we find a hardened pattern, we can ask ourselves how it came to be. Was it a tactic of survival? Did it emerge from fear? Where is this sadness coming from? When did this pattern start forming? What triggers this pattern and how is this behavior affecting my life?

don't run away
from heavy emotions
honor the anger;
give pain the space
it needs to breathe
this is how we let go

there is a moment of victory that eventually happens when you take your growth and healing seriously. you start to notice that you are no longer the same person who started the journey. every day is not a great day — there are still plenty of challenges — but there is a new freshness to life and the low points are not as low as they once were.

tough emotions don't control your actions the way they used to. when you do react, it is no longer as intense or overwhelming. you are not perfectly happy all the time, but that was never the goal. instead, you feel a new sense of calm because you've more deeply embraced the inevitability of change. you don't fear the ups and downs but have learned to glide with them.