Note to Myself After 20 Years of Practice

Stay curious in the face of despair. Learn the varieties of pain and how to tend to each one. Accept that you will treat suffering, at times, while suffering. Care for yourself, even when there are easier options. Never pretend to know the outcome. Show up empty and wide, but able to narrow, like a funnel. Listen with more than just the senses. If you are bitten, ask if it was out of fear. Do not equate compassion with self-sacrifice. Never bend for unreasonable demands. Be halved by humor. Keep tools oiled and sharp. Set it all aside when the week is done; if you can't, spill your disappointment to only the most sacred of friends. Continue to master what you were built to do; don’t be fooled into thinking there is nothing more to learn. Ask yourself, at wit’s edge: endpoint or fulcrum? Take a break when you can no longer be surprised.