When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news.”

The author’s teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, believed that problems were pathways to enlightenment—the feeling of being at one with the world in all its ups and downs. Trouble teaches people that problems will arise no matter how much they plan against them. Accepting bad situations is the first step toward no longer being blocked by them.

“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”

The truth sometimes hurts, so people don’t want to see it or believe it. They resist the signs and portents of the problems they don’t want to face, but the problems arrive anyway, and they must confront them whether they want to or not. People often perceive fear as a sign that it’s time to run away, but if one recognizes fear as a sign that something important needs to be acknowledged, they can focus on accepting the truth and, by not resisting it, move forward.

“When things fall apart and we’re on the verge of we know not what, the test of each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize. The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that’s really swell.”

Chödrön acknowledges a tendency, during a crisis, to think up a theory about the problem that will make it go away. Such theories hide the truth that exists in the moment and waits there to teach a lesson. The point isn’t to escape to some sort of paradise, but to arrive at the center point of one’s own life, which is always the present moment with all its positive and negative attributes.