Perseverance

Charlotte Joko Beck is, in my opinion, one of the most outstanding meditation teachers writing today. Here is something she said about enlightenment:

Enlightenment is not something you achieve. It is the absence of something. All your life you have been going forward after something, pursuing some goal. Enlightenment is dropping all that. But to talk about it is of little use.

The practice has to be done by each individual. There is no substitute. We can read about it until we are a thousand years old and it won't do a thing for us. We all have to practice, and we have to practice with all of our might for the rest of our lives.

Yes, enlightenment is the absence of something. It's the absence of striving, of competition, of the demand to gratify the ego. It's a profound "okayness" with oneself, a joyful letting go, an unconditional acceptance of what is. So let's keep practicing with all of our might. It's worth it!