BOOK EXTRACT: When Things Fall Apart

Our team select various books that feature in our libraries at Sharpham House, The Barn and The Coach House. Lots of the books are for sale in our real bookshops in each library and via our online Bookshop too. Your purchases go towards supporting The Sharpham Trust charity.

When Things Fall Apart Pema Chodron

We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that’s death.

Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air.

There’s no room for something to come in and interrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling our experience.

Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later, we’re going to have an experience we can’t control: our house is going to burn down, someone we love is going to die, we’re going to find out we have cancer, a brick is going to fall out of the sky and hit us on the head, somebody’s going to spill tomato juice all over our white suit, or we’re going to arrive at our favorite restaurant and discover that no one ordered produce and 700 people are coming for lunch.

This book is available in The Barn's library and in our online bookshop here.