In Zen, there is an old saying: The obstacle is the path. Know that a whole and happy life is not free of obstacles. Quite the contrary, a whole and happy life is riddled with obstacles-they simply become the very stepping-stones that help lift us to a new perspective. It is not what happens to us in this life that shapes us, it is how we choose to respond to what happens to us.
Dennis Merritt Jones, The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life
authenticity, choice, happiness, obstacles, power, stepping-stones, zen