You’re coming from a sense of well-being inside. You realize that no matter how bad things get outside, you’ve still got a safe place inside where you can go. And from that position you can see more clearly what needs to be done, and you have the strength to do it.

"Have goodwill [mettā] towards your breathing, compassion, appreciation, equanimity for your breathing. In other words, allow the breath to be comfortable so you can have a foundation. Where it’s not comfortable, work at making it more comfortable: That’s compassion. Where it is comfortable, appreciate it. Sometimes, especially in the very beginning, the states of comfort seem to be very minor and not impressive at all, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the potential to become more impressive with time. You’ve got to give them a little space. It’s like oak trees: When they first come out of the ground, they’re pretty small — a little tiny acorn. Of an even better analogy is a coastal redwood tree, which has the tiniest little seeds, and yet the tallest trees on earth come from these tiny, tiny seeds. Develop the conditions, allow them to grow, and they become a huge forest.

It’s the same with the sense of well-being in the body. First find areas that are simply not in pain, that seem okay. That’s good enough. And then be very careful to keep them okay. Don’t let the way you breathe push, or pull, or squeeze them in any way at all. Just let them be all right continuously, all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out-breath. They’ll begin to grow, to develop a sense of fullness. And then you can allow that sense of fullness to expand through whatever parts of the body pick it up.

As for equanimity, when there are areas that you can’t improve, develop equanimity for them. Focus instead on the areas where you can make a difference. Don’t get worked up over the things you can’t improve, because that gets in the way of seeing where you can make a difference, where you can be of help. Once you get practice in developing these attitudes toward the breath in your own body, it’s a lot easier to develop the same attitudes toward other people because you’re coming from a sense of well-being inside. You realize that no matter how bad things get outside, you’ve still got a safe place inside where you can go. And from that position you can see more clearly what needs to be done, and you have the strength to do it."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Reality Principle"

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