Recognized, Not Achieved: Awakening Is Not Produced Through Effort

"You are not here to make something happen, but to allow something to happen."
–Eckhart Tolle

Awakening is not achieved through effort.
In fact, seeking may be the very thing in the way.

Most of us try to awaken the same way we try to improve at everything else: by trying harder and paying more attention. However, awakening is not a project. It's not something you accomplish.

The part of you that is trying to wake up is the same part that keeps asking, "Am I there yet?" This constant seeking is not wrong, but it keeps what you are looking for just out of reach.

When you relax your efforts to awaken, something becomes obvious...you don't need to become someone new or reach a future state. What you are looking for is already here; it is hidden only by the habit of searching.

Awakening is not produced.
It is recognized when the search ends.

Just be.