'We have to give up hope'

"I once said something in the zendo that upset a lot of people. I said, 'To do this practice, we have to give up hope.' Not many people were happy about that. But what did I mean? I mean that we have to give up this idea in our heads that somehow, if we could only figure it out, there's some way to have this perfect life that is just right for us. Life is the way it is. And only when we begin to give up those maneuvers does life begin to be more satisfactory."

— Charlotte Joko Beck, “Everyday Zen”