I just heard the new talk (July 2011) of Eckhart Tolle, with Marianne Williamson as a guest, author of, int. al, the book “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of ‘A Course in Miracles‘”.
Quoting or referring to the Course in Miracles, she mentioned something, which actually, I noticed, I seem never, for my own “spiritual” life, to have considered: It is up to us, whether we learn through joy or through pain. While as a language teacher, I have always maintained that joy in learning was important, it seems that, as to the spiritual path, I had lost awareness, that we do not need to learn through pain, but that we can also learn through joy.