"Beware of letting time pass you by without your having attained what people of fervor have reached in every time and place. Do all you can to be open to the ‘spiritual breezes’ (nafahat) of your Lord, and do not be weak or lazy about this, lest there pass you by what has passed by so many people––and there is no strength nor power but through God! If you want to be open to these spiritual breezes, then do not always follow what your ego desires and what is light for it; rather, follow what it does not desire and what is heavy for it, in order that it might traverse the path and harvest the fruits of its practices. If someone is taken up with practices which do not increase him in vigilance, he will never meet the people [of God] nor be free of error, regardless of whatever else he may do."

–– Sheikh ad-Darqawi, Letters on the Spiritual Path, translated by T. Burckhardt (courtesy of Maryam KD)