Words to a client…

What I understand is that you love your parents and you also feel you hate them — and so I have to tell you that actually the hate doesn’t matter. It’s just your way of saying that your path is different.

The task is to keep on loving people and not expect them to change, improve, or be anything except really annoying. Occasionally they’ll surprise you by being heartbreakingly sweet and then you’ll see how much they need love. Accept that as part of the contradictory parcel of life. Love them, and allow them their craziness. Because that’s exactly what you’d want from them for yourself.

As for worrying about the past, we just have to look back at all those mistakes and laugh, because we simply didn’t know any other way to be at that time. Can you look back and see that? If you can then laughter is the only reasonable response. Once we accept that, life becomes so much easier.