« You can refuse to let life go. And lock yourself in a problem, or pseudo-problem, and not want to let go until we have solved it. We call it "neurotic perseverance," which is a fairly explicit psychological term. Here is a small example given by a psychologist of my friends in his book on consciousness, precisely: looking for his keys for two minutes is a suitable behavior; looking for them for two hours is much less so. And looking for them all day is no longer at all. It is better then to accept that they have been lost, to let the time run out or to move towards another solution than to continue to look. In this way, we turn many difficulties that should remain benign into major existential problems. These lost keys become the transient embodiment of my misfortune and my destiny as an unhappy human being and the victim of a contrary destiny. But life can go on, even if we haven't solved all our problems! »

« We can also open our eyes in a less painful way, through simple and natural life events: having children, travelling, meeting, loving... These repeated, accepted, savored moments of life help us to understand what matters, not intellectually, but experientially. They open our consciousness, decadence it. And awaken him to what is fundamental. And sometimes, even simpler moments, tear the veil even more radically. Like soft and brutal evidence at the same time... »

« And then, as we have seen, one may simply want to refuse the pain of certain moments of life. Refuse to experience the experience of suffering, or unpleasant, simply. So, in the face of painful moods, we can react like a surgeon: to remove the problem we cut wide and we remove everything. To not feel this sadness or worry in me when I let myself go a little, or when I do nothing, I avoid letting myself go, or doing nothing. In order not to feel the unpleasant, I try not to feel anything at all. I'm blinding myself, I'm getting tough. I deprive myself of the taste of life because it was once bitter. These leaks will not change our lives, if they must be. They will just make us wait, hold on, until death - some pessimists will say that it's not bad enough - or until a subsequent explosion, a crisis, a depression. Not present, not aware, how could we then be happy? At best, be sometimes relieved, satisfied, not too unhappy... »