Thought of the week

Before wanting to take care of others, one must first be able to love oneself. Loving oneself is not based on a sense of personal debt for which one is accountable to oneself but simply on the fact that by nature we all strive to be happy and not suffer. It is only after accepting this benevolence toward oneself that it is possible to extend it to all others.

FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA, TENZIN GYATSO (B. 1936)
Summarized and adapted from Les voies spirituelles du bonheur, Presses du Chatelet, Paris, 2002; Points Sagesse, Seuil, 2004. English version: The Compassionate Life, Shambhala 2003