A friend sent me this quote today, and I absolutely loved it.

"There are no models, no ideals; the goal isn't to be wise or spiritual.
You just notice what is. I like to say, 'Don't pretend yourself beyond
your own evolution.' What I mean is 'Don't be spiritual; be honest
instead.' It's painful to pretend that you're more evolved than you are,
to be in the position of teacher when it's kinder to yourself to be in the
position of a student. Inquiry is about the truth, which doesn't
necessarily look the way you think it's supposed to look. Truth is no
respecter of spirituality. It only respects itself, just as it appears
now. And it's not serious; it's just God laughing at the cosmic joke.

If someone comes toward you with a gun and says he's going to kill you and
you're scared, go ahead and run. That's no less spiritual than any other
reaction. But if you don't have a belief about it, you're free. You can
run or stay - it doesn't matter, because whatever you do, you're at peace.
Oh, you might think, 'he thinks he's going to kill me.' You could just as
well be filing your nails. That's freedom."

Byron Katie from her new book (with Stephen Mitchell), "A Thousand Names
for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are".