By weaving our opinions, prejudices, strategies and emotions into a solid reality, we try to make a big deal out of ourselves, out of our pain, out of our problems. But things are not as solid, predictable or seamless as they seem.

We habitually string our thoughts together into a story that tricks us into believing that our identity, our happiness, our pain and our problems are all solid and separate entities. In fact, like our thoughts all these constructs are constantly changing.

Pema Chodron, Comfortable with Uncertainty