We can open our eyes. We can begin asking a different question. Instead of the question “How can others be of use to me?” we can ask, “How can I be of use to others?”

we can repeatedly observe the mechanics of a mind that is rarely satisfied with what it has at the moment because it is always yearning for some manufactured ideal.

Without a conscious shift of attention to the myriad ways in which the world supports us, we risk our attention being trapped by problems and obstacles, leaving us to linger in suffering and self-pity.

We notice the obstacles because we have to get around them to proceed. But what if we go through life only noticing obstacles, problems, and difficulties?

To live a life of gratitude is to open our eyes to the countless ways in which we are supported by the world around us. Such a life provides less space for our suffering because our attention is more balanced.

When we shift our attention to the reality around us, to our spouse, our car, the service station attendant, we see countless opportunities to care for others. But those who are most preoccupied with themselves suffer the most. They also fail to experience the satisfaction of attending to the needs of another.

The qualities of outward attention and compassion are so intermingled that it is difficult to imagine a person possessing the latter quality without the former.

As long as we hold fast to our ideal of what we deserve from the world we blind ourselves to the gifts we are receiving.

“Usually thinking is rather self-centered. In our everyday life our thinking is ninety-nine percent self-centered: Why do I have suffering? Why do I have trouble?” SHUNRYU SUZUKI ROSHI