Aarthi Muthulakshmi's Key Ideas from Love for Imperfect Things
by Haemin Sunim

Your true nature is not something you can obtain by searching for it. It will reveal itself to you when the mind grows quiet.

Clinging to a particular negative thought can even lead to depression. Be careful not to get caught up in your thoughts.

Your life is difficult not because the past is holding you back, but because you keep thinking about the past and lingering there.

Rather than haggling with your past, let it be, so that it can flow like a river. Your true self is not the river of memory but the one who stands beside the river, quietly observing its flow.

“Things are so hard for you right now, but you will be okay no matter what.”

Emotions are like uninvited guests. They come whenever they want to, and leave once you acknowledge their presence. Although emotions are born inside of you, don’t assume that they belong to you. That is why they rarely listen to you.

Do you often say to your loved one, “If you love me, can’t you change for me?”That is not love. Love’s true face is acceptance and freedom, not restriction and control.

In many things in life, the good is mixed with the bad. If you throw away the whole thing because you dislike the bad part, you’ll also throw away much that is good.

Even though it seems like the night will go on forever, at a certain point the days start getting longer.

Even though it seems suffering will continue without end, at a certain point it will ease up, or we will learn to accept it.

Meanwhile, we will learn a valuable lesson from that suffering.

Nothing in this world lasts forever, not even our suffering.

“Even if someone I helped in the past, or I expected greatness from, causes me grave harm, may I consider him my greatest teacher.”

When you care for yourself first, the world will also find you worthy of care.

It’s okay that you have flaws. How could our lives be as clean and white as a blank sheet of paper? Life naturally takes a toll on our bodies, our minds, and our relationships.

Rather than choosing a life in which you do nothing for fear of making a mistake, choose a life that improves through failure and pain.

And shout out loud to your struggling self, “I love you so much.”

Don’t judge people based on how they appear, as they may have difficulties that nobody can see.

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

Don’t think you are lovable only when you succeed at what the world demands. You are already worthy of love.

Even products labeled “limited edition” are made on a production line with hundreds that are exactly the same. But there is only one you in the world. Please cherish the unique individual that is you.