Being human can feel messy! Oh, how messy it can feel. There are so many things we wish were true and so many things we wish were not true. Yet if we look closely, there’s a deeper, fundamental longing we carry. We long to feel at home with ourselves. We long to return to the home of the heart.

The struggles we experience, if we're humble enough, call us inward. They’re like sacred doorways to embodiment, freedom, and what the Buddha called the highest happiness or peace. We can begin by developing a genuine friendship with life as it is, a genuine friendship with ourselves. Cultivating a kind and authentic relationship with ourselves is both possible and essential for transformation to occur.

Over time, we can reestablish intimate contact with life as it is. This is different from trying to think nice thoughts. For most of us, this takes time and commitment. This commitment isn't fueled by obligation so much as longing and love. Longing and love loosen the roots of our suffering. What emerges is a deeply happy presence that senses itself to be sufficient, whole, undefended, spontaneous, and free.