Full Catastrophe Living, Again

I’ve decided during these challenging, unfamiliar, and difficult times I will re-read Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. If you have not done so already, I invite you to considering reading this powerful book.

In the Full Catastrophe Living, Again posts I would like to share some of my favorite quotes from each section of the book for any interested or curious readers. It is my hope to inspire meaningful discussions and offer hope to anyone who might be struggling with the current state of our world. I know I am not alone in my situation. We are all part of the catastrophe we call life. “Catastrophe here does not mean disaster. Rather it means the poignant enormity of our life experience.” Jon Kabat-Zinn
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Introduction: Stress, Pain, and Illness: Facing the Full Catastrophe

• “This book is a practical guide for anyone who seeks to transcend his or her limitations and move toward greater levels of health and well-being.”
• “There is more right with you than wrong.”
• “Hard to list all of our vulnerabilities and inadequacies, our limitations and weaknesses as people, the illnesses and injuries and disabilities we may have to live with, the personal defeats and failures we have felt or fear in the future, the injustices and exploitations we suffer or fear, the losses of people we love and of our own bodies sooner or later.”
• “The “full catastrophe” captures something positive about the human spirit’s ability to come to grips with what is most difficult in life and to find within it room to grow in strength and wisdom.”
• “You can’t sail straight into the wind, and if you only know how to sail with the wind at your back, you will only go where the wind blows you. But if you know how to use the wind’s energy and are patient, you can sometimes get to where you want to go. You can still be in control...We all accept that no one controls the weather. Good sailors learn to read it carefully and respect its power. They will avoid storms if possible, but when caught in one, they know when to take down the sails, batten down the hatches, drop anchor, and ride things out, controlling what is controllable and letting go of the rest.
• "Developing skill in facing and effectively handling the various “weather conditions” in your life is what we mean by the art of conscious living.”

Source: Kabat-Zinn, Jon. (2013). Full catastrophe living : using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Bantam Books.

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With thanks, gratitude and mindfulness.