Soulwork . . . involves breaking open the husks of the conditioned identities that encase our seed potentials, as well as plowing and cultivating the soil of our deeper humanness, so that these seeds can blossom and bear fruit.
This kind of cultivation takes patience, dedication, and perseverance — which is why Rilke once described the soulwork of relationship as "day labor, day labor, God knows there is no other word for it."
— John Welwood, Love and Awakening