Shaky tenderness

"When you feel that something is wrong, let the story line go and touch in on what's underneath.  You may notice that when you let the words go, when you stop talking to yourself, there's something left, and that something tends to be very soft.  At first it may seem intense and vivid, but if you don't recoil from that and you keep opening your heart, you find that underneath all of the fear is what has been called shaky tenderness."  

--Pema Chödrön, Buddhist nun