What had saved me was stopping the struggle.

realized that no children get everything they want.

Expensive hotel rooms and bouquets of flowers were no substitute for watching the stars blink on and the sun and moon rise. Kind people in book lines did not keep me from missing my friends. To feel truly alive, I needed the sights, sounds, and smells of home.

I was accepting impermanence and moving in gratitude for what was present.

How do we lead a good life in all circumstances?

There is nothing like lying on the ground to ground us. We feel the earth beneath us and look at the sky above. We are no longer a small individual being but are connected to the great suchness of the universe.

could choose to stop making myself unhappy by waiting for something that would never happen. I could declare a truce with my own neediness and simply walk away from it. I could end my argument with reality and accept life as it is. This heart/mind insight comforted me.

good people act on behalf of others and that the most satisfying work is devoting oneself to a great cause.

Pain, like almost everything else, is impermanent. Receiving love is impermanent, but giving love can be permanent.