“Whatever is seen with the eyes is vividly unreal in emptiness, yet there is still form…and that form, is our teacher. Whatever is heard with the ears is the echo of emptiness, yet real. All our thoughts and memories, “good and bad, happy and sad,” all “vanish into emptiness like the imprint of a bird in the sky.” ~ Trungpa Rinpoche, as quoted by Pema Chodron in Coming Closer to Ourselves.

How often do we allow our emotions to pull us inward, and into those churning muddied waters of what we believe the story to be?

As humans, these feelings, as great as they are…can serve as the thread that draws us nearer to others. And yet, those same thoughts when directed inward…can send us fleeing in fear.

Why are we so very afraid of coming closer to a better understanding? Is it the intensity of the ‘flame’ that causes us recoil at the stinging thought of a past injury?

My dears, all things that we experience in this life ~ are derived equally from that which we experience and that which we perceive.

But it doesn’t change the reality that the form before us is empty, without these stories we choose to create.

Life can be awfully scary, and…it can also be bliss…when it is that we understand the ‘shift.’

So, when it is that you feel overwhelmed, remember, 

“Not knowing the nature of fear, one can never become fearless.”

In this way, my dears, even fear…can be our teacher.

Much love, and namaste.