You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

Pema Chödrön has studied Tibetan Buddhism since 1974, and has authored several books interpreting Buddhist philosophy for Western readers. She focuses especially on self-compassion and the choice to lean into life’s fluctuations, rather than trying to control them. Her words here encourage us to ground ourselves when we get overwhelmed by our circumstances. If we remember that all feelings eventually pass, like a storm that gives way to clear skies, we can gain agency in any situation.