The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most important aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just to keep moving.
Pema ChodronRead
Never underestimate the desire to bolt.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing and acknowledging our instincts to flee from difficult situations.
Pema Chodron's quote, 'Never underestimate the desire to bolt,' serves as a reminder that our instinct to escape from uncomfortable or challenging scenarios is powerful and should not be overlooked. It speaks to the human tendency to avoid discomfort, urging us instead to confront our fears and understand our motivations, allowing for personal growth and resilience in the face of adversity.
Themes
FearCourageEscapeGrowthChallenge
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a motivational talk to inspire others to face challenges head-on.
More from Pema Chodron
All quotes →Without giving up hope—that there’s somewhere better to be, that there’s someone better to be—we will never relax with where we are or who we are.
Pema ChodronRead
When we scratch the wound and give into our addictions we do not allow the wound to heal.
Pema ChodronRead
It's said that when we die, the four elements - earth, air, fire and water - dissolve one by one, each into the other, and finally just dissolve into space. But while we're living, we share the energy that makes everything, from a blade of grass to an elephant, grow and live and then inevitably wear out and die. This energy, this life force, creates the whole world.
Pema ChodronRead
Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.
Pema ChodronRead
We have two alternatives: either we question our beliefs - or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality- or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in staying open and curious - to train in dissolving our assumptions and beliefs - is the best use of our human lives.
Pema ChodronRead
Similar quotes
But the main point is that soldiers, after fighting for some time, are apt to be like burned-out cinders. They have shot off their ammunition, their numbers have been diminished, their strength and their morale are drained, and possibly their courage has vanished as well. As an organic whole, quite apart from their loss in numbers, they are far from being what they were before the action; and thus the amount of reserves spent is an accurate measure on the loss of morale.
Carl Von ClausewitzRead
Some of us have a hard time believing that we are actually able to face our own pain. We have convinced ourselves that our pain is too deep, too frightening, something to avoid at all costs. Yet if we finally allow ourselves to feel the depth of that sadness and gently let it break our hearts, we may come to feel a great freedom, a genuine sense of release and peace, because we have finally stopped running away from ourselves and from the pain that lives within us.
Wayne MullerRead
Right out of high school I never had the fear of getting beat, which is how most people lose.
Dan GableRead
Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Gene CernanRead
We are at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it has been said if we lose that war, and in so doing lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening.
Ronald ReaganRead
Bullies are always cowards at heart and may be credited with a pretty safe instinct in scenting their prey.
Anna Julia CooperRead