The Sufis tell stories that say all I think I’ll ever know about finding God.

The first story is a disarming and compelling one. It is also, I think, a troublesome one, a fascinating one, a chastening one: “Help us to find God,” the seeker begged the Elder. “No one can help you there,” the Elder answered. “But why not?” the seeker insisted. “For the same reason that no one can help a fish to find the ocean.” The answer was clear: There is no one who can help us find what we already have.

The second story is even more challenging. “Once upon a time,” the Sufi says, “a seeker ran through the streets shouting over and over again, 'We must put God into our lives. We must put God into our lives.’ “Ah, poor soul,” an Elder smiled wanly. “If only we realized the truth: God is always in our lives. The spiritual task is simply to recognize that.”

Joan Chittister in Awakenings