Another fantastic book that goes straight to the truth of it all is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. If you haven’t read it, it’s a picture book where a family goes on a bear hunt and they keep coming across obstacles—from tall grass, to swamp, to spooky forest, etc. Each time they say: “You can’t go over it, you can’t go under it, you’ve got to go through it.” This is life. As it’s said, life is full of 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. Try as we might to avoid those sorrows, we often have to allow them to pass through. Optimally we do this as a training ground to build the muscle of self-compassion. Here are some powerful anti-depressant and anti-anxiety (and happiness) side effects of Self-Compassion: