Bring awareness to the many subtle sounds of nature - The rustling of leaves in the wind, Raindrops falling, The humming of an insect, The first birdsong at dawn.
Eckhart TolleRead
If danger arises in the present moment, there may be an emotion. There may even be pain. But that's a challenge, not a problem. For a problem to exist, you need time and repetitive mind activity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that present danger may evoke emotions, but those feelings are part of facing a challenge rather than a long-term problem.
Eckhart Tolle emphasizes the distinction between challenges and problems in this quote. He argues that while immediate danger can provoke emotions such as fear or pain, it should be viewed as a challenge that can be confronted in the moment. In contrast, a true problem arises when we dwell on it over time or become consumed by repetitive thoughts about it. This perspective encourages individuals to respond to challenges in the present without getting weighed down by concern for the future.
Themes
DangerEmotionChallengeProblemPresentMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming fear and embracing challenges.
More from Eckhart Tolle
All quotes →Body awareness not only anchors you in the present moment, it is a doorway out of the prison that is the ego. It also strengthens the immune system and the body’s ability to heal itself.
Eckhart TolleRead
Whenever you become anxious or stressed, outer purpose has taken over, and you lost sight of your inner purpose. You have forgotten that your state of consciousness is primary, all else secondary.
Eckhart TolleRead
Nothing that was real ever died, only names, forms, and illusions.
Eckhart TolleRead
Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness and the burning up of the ego.
Eckhart TolleRead
Sometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing.
Eckhart TolleRead
Similar quotes
Both the physicist and the mystic want to communicate their knowledge, and when they do so with words their statements are paradoxical and full of logical contradictions.
Fritjof CapraRead
Imagining what it is like to be someone other than yourself is at the core of our humanity. It is the essence of compassion, and it is the beginning of morality.
Ian McewanRead
If you are white, racism is too easily ignored and forgiven, regarded as of burning concern only to the ethnic minorities, and therefore of relatively marginal significance.
Martin JacquesRead
I don't care whether animals are capable of thinking; all I care about is that they are capable of suffering!
Jeremy BenthamRead
Asset forfeiture is a mockery of the Bill of Rights. There is no presumption of innocence, no need to prove you guilty (or even charge you with a crime), no right to a jury trial, no right to confront your accuser, no right to a court-appointed attorney (even if the government has just stolen all your money), and no right to compensation for the property that's been taken.
Harry BrowneRead
The longest-lived and the shortest-lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.
Marcus AureliusRead