--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As long as we're caught up in always…" description: "\"As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/pema-ch-dr-n-327_adversity_as-long-as-we-re-caught-up-in-always-loo_2860911.png" --- # As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty… ![“As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happening, as long as we're always running from discomfort, we're going to be caught in a cycle of unhappiness and discomfort, and we will feel weaker…” quote by Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/pema-ch-dr-n-327_adversity_as-long-as-we-re-caught-up-in-always-loo_2860911.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/pema-ch-dr-n-327_adversity_as-long-as-we-re-caught-up-in-always-loo_2860911.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/pema-ch-dr-n-327_adversity_as-long-as-we-re-caught-up-in-always-loo_2860911.png) > “As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happening, as long as we're always running from discomfort, we're going to be caught in a cycle of unhappiness and discomfort, and we will feel weaker and weaker. This way of seeing helps us develop inner strength. And what's especially encouraging is the view that inner strength is available to us at just the moment when we think that we've hit the bottom, when things are at their worst.” [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chasing certainty and happiness leads to avoidance of discomfort, creating a cycle of unhappiness; embracing the present builds inner strength, especially in hardship. **In simple terms:** Accepting discomfort and the present builds resilience. Key Takeaway Embrace the moment to grow stronger. Themes mindfulness resilience acceptance Mood calm encouraging Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - stressful work - personal crises - daily meditation Key Concepts inner strength present‑moment awareness Questions to Reflect On - What discomfort are you avoiding? - How can present‑moment awareness help you now? A Different Perspective Avoiding discomfort can stunt personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Always running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always-running/) [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Caught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught/) [Caught up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught-up/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Cycles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycles/) [Develop Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/develop-inner-602452/) [Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort/) [Discomfort Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort-feel-3859881/) [Encouraging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouraging/) [Feel Weaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-weaker-3859879/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Giving up is not an option](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up-is-not-an-option/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Hard times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-times/) [Hardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardship/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Inner strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-strength/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Mindfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfulness/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Not giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-giving-up/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-wisdom/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Taste and smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste-and-smell/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness/) [Unhappiness Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness-discomfort-3859880/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-words/) [Words of encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-of-encouragement/) [Words of wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-of-wisdom/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [“For many of us, our first response to vulnerability and pain of these sharp points is not to lean into the discomfort and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/for-many-of-us-our-first-response-to-vulnerability-and-pain-of-these/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [One has to try to develop one's inner feelings, which can be done simply by training one's mind. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/it-helps-remove-whatever-fears-or-insecurities-we-may-have-and-gives/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [World peace must develop from inner peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/world-peace-must-develop-from-inner-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [If taken in positive frame of mind obstacle,challenges & difficulties develop inner strength & determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/if-taken-in-positive-frame-of-mind-obstacle-challenges-difficulties/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“1. Put Yourself in Your Shoes. Can you notice the inner critic at work—and simply observe your thoughts and feelings without judging? What underlying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/1-put-yourself-in-your-shoes-can-you-notice-the-inner-critic-at-work/) [William Ury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ury/) > [The way to develop inner peace through meditation begins with the recognition that the destroyer of inner peace is not some external foe, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-way-to-develop-inner-peace-through-meditation-begins-with-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Our capacity to think, except in the service of what we are dangerously deluded in supposing is our self-interest and in conformity with common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/our-capacity-to-think-except-in-the-service-of-what-we-are/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [First, I eat healthy; it comes from the inside out. If you eat right, your skin, hair, nails will look good. The same if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-del-castillo/first-i-eat-healthy-it-comes-from-the-inside-out-if-you-eat-right/) [Kate del Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-del-castillo/) > [As for the garden of mint, the very smell of it alone recovers and refreshes our spirits, as the taste stirs up our appetite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/as-for-the-garden-of-mint-the-very-smell-of-it-alone-recovers-and/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [My sexuality is straight transvestite or male lesbian. It seems we are beyond the idea that I am gay and hiding it. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/my-sexuality-is-straight-transvestite-or-male-lesbian-it-seems-we-are/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) > [Taste and smell are often the beggars among our five senses - they leave no written language and therefore no standards other than wholly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schoonmaker/taste-and-smell-are-often-the-beggars-among-our-five-senses-they/) [Frank Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schoonmaker/) > [The empathic understanding of the experience of other human beings is as basic an endowment of man as his vision, hearing, touch, taste and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-kohut/the-empathic-understanding-of-the-experience-of-other-human-beings-is/) [Heinz Kohut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-kohut/) > [Through seven figures come sensations for a man; there is hearing for sounds, sight for the visible, nostril for smell, tongue for pleasant or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/through-seven-figures-come-sensations-for-a-man-there-is-hearing-for/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) ## More by Pema Chodron > [“LIFE’S work is to wake up, to let the things that enter into your life wake you up rather than put you to sleep.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/life-s-work-is-to-wake-up-to-let-the-things-that-enter-into-your-life/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/since-death-is-certain-and-the-time-of-death-is-uncertain-what-is-the/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The essence of generosity is letting go. Pain is always a sign that we are holding on to something - usually ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/the-essence-of-generosity-is-letting-go-pain-is-always-a-sign-that-we/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“If the object of meditation were something concrete, something solid and graspable - an image or a statue or a dot on the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-the-object-of-meditation-were-something-concrete-something-solid/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately fill up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“The essence of life is that it’s challenging. Sometimes it is sweet, and sometimes it is bitter. Sometimes your body tenses, and sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/the-essence-of-life-is-that-it-s-challenging-sometimes-it-is-sweet/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [If we run a hundred miles an hour to the other end of the continent in order to get away from the obstacle, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-we-run-a-hundred-miles-an-hour-to-the-other-end-of-the-continent/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“But in this meditation technique, we are with the out-breath; there's no particular instruction about what to do until the next out-breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/but-in-this-meditation-technique-we-are-with-the-out-breath-there-s/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. Nothing ever really attacks us except our own confusion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/nothing-ever-goes-away-until-it-has-taught-us-what-we-need-to-know/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [So even if the hot loneliness is there, and for 1.6 seconds we sit with that restlessness when yesterday we couldn't sit for even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/so-even-if-the-hot-loneliness-is-there-and-for-1-6-seconds-we-sit/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [If you have rage and righteously act it out and blame it all on others, it's really you who suffers. The other people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-you-have-rage-and-righteously-act-it-out-and-blame-it-all-on/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“When we realize that the path is the goal, there’s a sense of workability. Trungpa Rinpoche said, “Whatever occurs in the confused mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/when-we-realize-that-the-path-is-the-goal-there-s-a-sense-of/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Every day is a new opportunity to work with what you have inside toward enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/every-day-is-a-new-opportunity-to-work-with-what-you-have-inside/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [If someone comes along and shoots an arrow into your heart, it’s fruitless to stand there and yell at the person. It would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-someone-comes-along-and-shoots-an-arrow-into-your-heart-it-s/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) [Explore all 664 Pema Chodron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happening, as long as we're always running from discomfort, we're going to be caught in a cycle of unhappiness and discomfort, and we will feel weaker and weaker. 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