Bizah was in the temple fingering through his long string of beads. Every day, he came in the early afternoon to give thanks. He would note something for which he was grateful, then go on to the next bead and do the same.

One day, he spent an extraordinarily long time in the temple, so his Master came looking for him.

“Bizah, you have been in here for hours giving thanks,” said the Master. “What is taking you so long?”

“Master,” said Bizah, “it is really hard for me today to find enough things to give thanks for. I really have to think about it.”

“Master, when I go to the market every other week, there is one fruit merchant who is always so much busier than the others, even though he sells the same fruit. Is there a reason so many more buy from him?”

“Well, Bizah, do you also buy your fruit from him instead of from the other fruit merchants?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he is always so friendly and present with me – even when I buy just one piece of fruit. So I go away feeling good.”

Insight from Michael Brown’s Alchemy of the Heart

Much about our human experience is “hidden from us in plain sight,” as Michael puts it.

Until we are shown the obvious, we just don’t see it.

From birth, we traverse what Michael calls the pathway of awareness:

Insight from Michael Brown’s Alchemy of the Heart

One of the most life-changing insights that can ever dawn on a person is that life unfolds just as it should when we live our way through our life instead of thinking our way through it, analyzing, constantly seeking answers.

The key is to experience our days, exactly as they are, rather than going through life holding in our head a set of images of how we think our life should be.

Insight from Michael Brown’s Alchemy of the Heart

It’s possible to make trying to grow as a person an end in itself, and then it becomes self-defeating.

It can actually become narcissism, to the point we are completely turned in on ourselves, which serves no one, isn’t enjoyable, and brings enjoyment to no one.

Insight from Michael Brown’s Alchemy of the Heart

There is more to life than focusing on personal growth. Don’t make changing your life your reason for being.

Indeed, it’s easy to become obsessed with trying to grow—and when we are addicted to our "growth," the point of life is missed.

Insight from Michael Brown’s Alchemy of the Heart

A lot of people who begin on a spiritual journey are extremely enthusiastic about some of the new and sometimes fascinating practices they get into. But Michael points out in the section of Alchemy of the Heart entitled Integrity, beginning on page 5: