One  of the most common mistakes people make when they embark on a path of spiritual progress is to believe that they have embarked on a journey of self-improvement.  The reason for the misunderstanding, in my experience, is that in most of us, there seems to be a deeply held, though often unconscious conviction,  that who we  are now, right at this minute, is a defective, inferior version of who we ought to be, or should be. In fact,  many people on the spiritual path seem to think their task is to become saintly or “perfect.”  

In other words, there’s a belief that if they aren’t completely unselfish, self-sacrificing,  and caring all of the time,  aren’t always  wise, patient, peaceful, compassionate and understanding (to mention but a few of the virtues many people  imagine an enlightened being possesses) then enlightenment will forever elude them. This insistence on becoming perfect, however,  is one of the biggest hurdles we need to overcome if we  are ever to attain spiritual maturity.    

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