Treading the Dhamma path is like walking a tightrope. It leads along one straight line, and every time we slip, it hurts. When we first start to walk on the tightrope we are not used to balancing. We have been swaying all over the place, going in many directions, wherever it is most comfortable. We may feel restricted and coerced, not being allowed to live according to our natural instincts. Yet to walk on a tightrope we have to restrict ourselves through mindfulness. These restrictions may at first feel irksome, like fetters or bonds, but later they turn out to be liberating factors.
— Ayya Khema, Be an Island