THE PATH

"Hidden within every wound we always find a particular blessing. If we blame ourselves for our personality patterns, we cannot access the gift contained within them and thus only impoverish ourselves further. Whatever we are struggling with, whatever seems most neurotic, can become an important stepping-stone on our way. Whatever problem, question, or confusion we have, whatever seems impossible in our lives - if we go toward it, see it, feel it, make a relationship with it, use it - becomes our path.
It is easy to become discouraged by life's challenges, to ask, 'Why is it so difficult to be human, why do I have to go through this, why am I not more enlightened?' In our despair we fail to appreciate the path quality of human evolution. Enlightenment is not some ideal goal, perfect state of mind, or spiritual realm on high, but a journey that takes place on this earth. It is the process of waking up to all of what we are and making a complete relationship with that."

Toward A Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation
John Welwood