ABSTRACT
Life's imperfections may be our best teachers, opening our eyes to deeper values. A self-healing quality is present everywhere in nature, and if we can open our hearts to our wounds and losses, we may discover the power to heal ourselves from within, a shared experience that wisdom traditions have been referring to as our Innate Goodness. Some wounds cannot be healed, but even these can enable healing to take place at other levels. This chapter focuses on how mindful compassion can facilitate our self-healing capacity and how we can become wounded healers. Another metaphor is offered in the River of Life. It offers many practices that can help to cultivate the good that we may do on a regular basis, formally and informally; others we may do when there is a need to help us to deal wisely with difficulties as they arise and are faced with wounded parts needing special care.
