Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘So much of our suffering comes from believing we should only be feeling one emotion at a time. We imagine that if we are grieving we should not feel joy, or that if we are joyful we somehow diminish our grief. But life has never worked that way. The human heart has always been spacious enough to hold delight and sorrow together. Practice, as I understand it, is learning not to simplify our experience but to become intimate with all of it.

When we allow ourselves to stay in conversation with our inner life, we become less certain and more curious. Rather than clinging to what we think is true, we begin asking, ‘What else is here? What haven’t I noticed? What is life inviting me to see?’ Curiosity has become one of the greatest expressions of faith for me because it keeps my heart open to being changed.’ (from Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up)