In the book After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, Jack Kornfield includes a story from a Christian contemplative who had spent many years struggling with despair. He shared his struggles with Father Bede Griffins, a Catholic monk. "We talked and he told me that I had made up a whole story of how the spiritual journey should unfold. Then he held my face in his hands and beamed such love into me and said, 'Why not be your own unique self. That's all God wants from you.'"