The purpose of meditation practice is not enlightenment; it is to pay attention even at unextraordinary times, to be of the present, nothing-but-in-the-present, to bear this mindfulness of now into each event of ordinary life.
When you spend time with a dying person, you discover that the human spirit has the
power to come forth in the middle of crisis and suffering in ways we can't imagine.
Over and over, I have seen ordinary people—afraid, angry, confused—awaken into
profound wisdom and understanding.
Joan Halifax