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The one thing Pema Chödrön said that has changed my life the most
To be alive and awake is to let go
Today is a separate life from yesterday. That’s my approach to life. I want to experience each day like it’s my only life. It’s how I’m trying to make every experience count. I learned that from the stoic philosopher Seneca. He notes, “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”
I recently came across another brilliant quote by Buddhist teacher, author, and nun Pema Chödrön. “To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again,” she said.
Her words are not just poetic. It’s real. Living completely, without holding back, means you’re always on edge, always stepping into a new experience. And that’s the point. But more often than not, we want safety, something to hold on to. But to live fully, we have to let go of that need. We must make peace with uncertainty and spontaneity.
It’s key to an interesting life.
Every experience is pure, meaningful and memorable.
