The second arrow - Mindfulness Meditation
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The second arrow - Mindfulness Meditation
While those sorts of reactions might feel like the right things to do at the time, they don’t really help: instead of feeling better, we will likely feel even worse. Our whole body might be filled with even more uncomfortable sensations: those are the “second darts” we create, which we then react to even more, by which discomfort or physical pain t... See more
What Is Awakening?
The second arrow may take the form of judgment (“how could I have been so stupid?”), fear (“what if the pain doesn’t go away?”), or anger (“I hate that I’m in pain. I don’t deserve this!”).
Thich Nhat Hanh • No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
The first arrow—be it a negative thought, feeling, event, or circumstance—you can’t always control. But you can control the second arrow, or your reaction to the first one.
Brad Stulberg • The Practice of Groundedness
The second arrow, fired by our own selves, is our reaction, our storyline, and our anxiety.
Thich Nhat Hanh • No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
As the saying goes, pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. If you can simply stay present with whatever is arising in awareness—whether it’s a first dart or a second one—without reacting further, then you will break the chain of suffering right there.