Yesterday was Singapore’s 60th birthday, and as I always do, I spent the evening watching the National Day Parade on TV. I love the pomp and pageantry that goes with these kinds of parades, and used to enjoy watching India’s Republic Day parades when I was young. 

Today’s quote from American-born Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön speaks to the transformative power of facing challenges rather than avoiding them. Pema Chödrön encourages us to sit with discomfort, rather than escape it. She suggests that difficulties, though painful, can be catalysts for growth, wisdom, and inner strength if we allow ourselves to stay present with them.

The key message is that it’s natural to want to run from pain or fear, but healing and transformation come when we learn to stay with our experience and observe it with compassion and courage. When we stop resisting or fleeing our struggles, they can open us up rather than shut us down. Ultimately, this quote is an invitation to be brave, to stop avoiding what’s hard, and to trust that even the most difficult experiences can lead to deep personal transformation, not despite the pain, but through it.

At the beginning of the week, I decided to spend some time doing content planning and blog post scheduling, but even though I had some idea of what I wanted to put in this space, I was not able to articulate much, leading to a serious creativity glut. So I decided to take a break for the rest of the week, hoping that this will let my brain juices flow and let the ideas come in.

That was my week. How was yours? Stay positive and keep smiling!