"There is an underbelly of terror to all life.

It is suffering, it is hurt.

Deep within all of us are intense fears that have left few of us whole.

Life's terrors haunt us, attack us, leave ugly cuts.

To buffer ourselves, we dwell on beauty, we collect things, we fall in love, we desperately try to make something lasting in our lives.

We take beauty as the only worthwhile thing in this existence, but it cannot veil cursing, violence, randomness, and injustice.

That is why spiritual progress is slow: not because no one will tell us the secrets, but because we ourselves must overcome sentiment and fear before we can grasp it."

~~~Deng Ming-Dao~~~
Powerful life quote used at Whiskey River