This is actually the predicament that we are always in
“There is a story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs
and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to
the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and
holds on to the vines. Looking down, she sees that there are tigers
below her as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the
vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of
strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump of grass. She looks
up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she just takes a
strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly. Tigers
above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always
in, in terms of our birth and death. Each moment is just what it is. It
might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry
we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally
appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of
our life.”
―
Pema Chödrön,
The Wisdom of No Escape: How to Love Yourself and Your World
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