I wish I could remember who it was that said, “awareness begins in those delicate moments in which we resist the urge to run away.”

I’m paraphrasing – poorly, I’m sure. Though the essence is still quite clear: that the real work exists within the heart of our own vulnerability.

To stay is a fundamental practice, and one which is potentially the most challenging.

At some level, our instincts are ‘hard wired’ – and, our mechanism for ‘fight or flight’, very real.

The Buddha taught that we are strengthened through this process of discovery; and, than running away only serves to diminish our awareness. That we should drive our hearts towards understanding our fears, rather than becoming shut down because of them.

“Rather than going after those walls and barriers with a sledgehammer,” shares Pema Chodron “we pay attention to them. With gentleness and honesty, we move closer to those walls. We touch them and smell them and get to know them well. We begin a process of acknowledging our aversions and our cravings. We become familiar with the strategies and beliefs we use to build the walls: What are the stories I tell myself? What repels me and what attracts me? We start to get curious about what’s going on. Without calling what we see right or wrong, we simply look as objectively as we can. We can observe ourselves with humor, not getting overly serious, moralistic or uptight about this investigation. Year after year, we train in remaining open and receptive to whatever arises. Slowly, very slowly, the cracks in the wall seem to widen and, as if by magic, bodhichitta is able to flow freely.”

My darlings, though the process may seem painful, at times – I promise you, it is not without reward.

For, in following through on our deepest emotions – we remove those barriers and begin to discover a heart that is so beautifully and uniquely you.

And, that is, by far, our life’s greatest awareness.