Face yourself as you are

Man is the only escapist animal. The escapism has become a deep rooted mechanism in man. The same he goes on doing with psychological things. If there is fear, then rather than encountering it he goes in another direction – prays to God, asks for help. Feeling poverty, inside poverty, rather than encountering it he goes on accumulating wealth, so that he can forget that he is poor inside. Seeing that he does not know himself, rather than encountering this ignorance he goes on collecting knowledge, becomes knowledgeable, like a parrot, and goes on repeating borrowed things. These are all escapes. If you really want to encounter yourself, you will have to learn how not to escape.

Life has to be encountered. Whatsoever comes before you, you have to look into it deeply, because that same depth is going to become your self-knowledge. ~Osho