Zen - a dam that bursts

When we practice we're cutting deep into our life as we've known it, and the way this process unfolds varies from person to person. For some people, depending on their personal conditioning and history, this process may go smoothly, and the release is slow. For others it comes in waves, enormous emotional waves. It's like a dam that bursts. We fear being flooded and overwhelmed. It's as though we've walled off part of the ocean, and when the dam breaks the water just rejoins that which it truly is; and it's relieved because now it can flow with the currents and the vastness of the ocean.

- CHARLOTTE JOKO BECK, EVERYDAY ZEN