From Buddhism Plain and Simply by Steve Hagen

Our job is to see where things don't make sense, when things aren't working out, where life is utterly baffling. We must note what a profound ache in the heart we feel and realize what it is we don't know. We must see our ignorance and confusion.

There isn't anything "out there" that ultimately satisfies. There isn't anything "out there" that we must acquire or repel. In fact, there isn't any "out there" at all. Nothing enters or leaves the Mind.

The angel in running shorts.

I was on my way to work one morning when I was living in Austin. There's a Starbucks on 5th Street going towards town that I always pass and sometimes stop. I stopped this particular morning because I had been feeling the weight of the world and it seemed particularly heavy at the moment. Caffeine, I reasoned, would give me the energy to carry it. I park. Buy drink. Wait. Receive drink. Stir in Splenda. Then a voice behind me, "You are worrying too much." I turn around and see a petite man in running shorts and a tank. "You may think you have problems, but you really don't. They are very small. Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's all small stuff." Knowing that this particular being was absolutely right and recognized my all-too-common plight instantly, I reply sincerely, "Thank you." He smiled and said, "Have a glorious day," as he walked out the door.

Thank you, angel in running shorts, for the start of my awakening. "This is not the end, this is the final beginning."