Feral Quotes

“three life-altering mantras: In this very moment, there is nothing to worry about. In this very moment, nothing is lacking. In this very moment, there is much to be grateful for.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“The Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön once said, “Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all . . . When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“In this very moment, there is nothing to worry about. In this very moment, nothing is lacking. In this very moment, there is much to be grateful for.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“In this very moment, there is nothing to worry about. In this very moment, nothing is lacking. In this very moment, there is much to be grateful for. As a bit of a West Coast hippie, I understood the gratitude one right away.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“The mind may lock us into inaction, but set loose to move, play, and discover, a body will make magic happen every time.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“I promise to be gentle with myself and let whatever emotions arise come and go calmly and with great care. I promise to love myself unconditionally. I promise to love my thoughts, even the less charming ones. I promise to stand by myself in sickness and in health. I choose patience, trusting that the work I am doing is true and meaningful and that I don’t need to beat myself up to have amazing things happen.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“Nature isn’t split in two. It isn’t anxious about the past or the future. It doesn’t carry the weight of ideas or judgments about itself. A rabbit is only itself. A cactus is only itself.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“I’ve found that I was looking at the parks without really seeing them. Like I was stroking my ego in some kind of completionist epic, hoarding visual moments like they were only real if I had a photo for social media to prove my presence in a place. Despite all the picture-taking I’ve indulged in, the silent, unphotographed experience of each park is far more real than any snapshot I’ve posed for.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“Boondocking, for anyone who hasn’t hoofed it in an RV long term, is what van dwellers call sleeping in free, undeveloped campsites off the beaten path. What a boondock site lacks in toilets and amenities it makes up for in undisturbed beauty and the fact that it’s, well, free.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“In times of emotional upheaval, the second arrow comes from our inability to let go.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“I took part in a ceremony to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings—reverence for life, true happiness, true love, loving speech and deep listening, and nourishment and healing—and was given a dharma name: Creative Healing of the Heart.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“In mindfulness, one is not only restful and happy but alert and awake,” teaches Hanh. “Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“It’s amazing how often our bodies know just what to do. The mind may lock us into inaction, but set loose to move, play, and discover, a body will make magic happen every time. The corporeal can shape-shift a tired mind into presence.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“When something beckons from deep inside, it will creep into the most mundane corners of your life, tug at the edges of your heart, and quietly whisper, “It’s time to go.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

“In the Sallatha Sutta, the Buddha speaks about the concept of the second arrow. The story goes that when an arrow strikes your body, you will feel pain. When a second arrow comes and strikes you in that same spot, the pain will be magnified ten times. The Buddha explains that the majority of the pain we feel in life is the product of this second arrow, not the first. When we stop to lament, or worry, or protest, or grow fearful, we are willingly driving a second arrow into a pain point that already exists, and though we may want to believe that we are calming ourselves down with cathartic outbursts of anger, or sorrow, or panic, the truth is that we’re only multiplying our hurt. Adding pain to an already stressful situation by heaping an emotion or expectation onto it does nothing to solve the issue or heal our wounds. In times of emotional upheaval, the second arrow comes from our inability to let go.”
― Emily Pennington, Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks