This post is part of Aid to Zen – A Quick Guide to Surviving Aid Work from A to Z by Alessandra Pigni.

When I first went to work in Palestine I brought with me a little book of reflections by Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön. I read one or two pages every morning before going about my work day. A day filled with deep encounters with people who shared stories of death, imprisonment, house demolitions, violence. Stories that showed me our human capacity “to fall seven times and stand up eight” as the Japanese proverb says.

Somehow those morning readings offered a wider horizon that could contain my suffering, as well as the suffering of those I counselled. That book still inspires me and continues to teach me the importance of being comfortable with the uncertainty of life. Today I picked a quote from it and I’d like to share it with you, wherever may be in the world:

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What to read:

Pema Chödrön, Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion