How to See Yourself As You Really Are

I finished this book by the Dalai Lama a couple of days ago, and these are my final observations on what I read. In order to be a truly loving and compassionate person, you must have the desire to help but also the insight to understand why you must help others. We are all sentient beings seeking the same things: happiness and freedom from suffering and pain.

Also, it is important to fully accept our impermanence. "...we think there is always lots of time remaining. This mistaken belief puts us in great danger of wasting our lives in procrastination, which is especially wasteful when our lives our blessed with the leisure and facilities to engage in productive practices...One of the chief reasons desire and hatred arise is that we are overly attached to the current flow of life. We have a sense that it will last forever, and with that sort of attitude we become fixated on superficialities-material possessions and temporary friends and situations. To overcome this ignorance, you need to reflect on the fact that a day is coming when you will not be here."

We are a part of the whole. We do not exist in of ourselves. Nothing does. The sooner you can come to realize this, the less pain and suffering you will cause yourself. It is actually comforting and empowering all at the same time to think of yourself as one small part of the whole universe, but to know that you are an integral part of it and that you do exert influence over it.