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The Daily Dharma – September 17, 2021

Man Hugging Woman Wall Painting by Annie Spratt

Some people find this exercise [casting our memory back across our whole life and bringing to mind two things that we did that were good] very difficult. No good deeds will come to our minds, or a few may arise only to be rejected immediately because we judge them as superficial or small or impure or imperfect. Does this mean that there are not even two good moments in a lifetime of one hundred thousand deeds? Hardly! We all have had many. It has another profound meaning. It is a reflection of how hard we are on ourselves. We judge ourselves so harshly, only and Idi Amin or Stalin would hire us to preside over their courts. Many of us discover we have little mercy for ourselves. We can hardly acknowledge that genuine love and goodness can shine freely in our hearts. Yet it does.

Jack Kornfield
from A Path with Heart; A Guide through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
Chapter: Did I Love Well?

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