As dharma students, we develop meditation and the skills of mindfulness so that can awaken.  In the process of awakening, we learn to meet life on life's terms.  We learn to meet the difficulties and challenges of life.  In doing so, we're not simply seeking to endure the challenges of life.  We're seeking to learn.  The message of the path, as Peter Doobinin explains, is a message of joy, brightness, true happiness.  By meeting the challenges of life, we know the happiness that the path offers.  

New York Dharma: www.nydharma.org