You may not see it unfolding, but here’s what happens the moment you take your eye off of seeing the whole of yourself:

Some unseen part of yourself takes one step closer to falling into the pit of some pain created by its unanswered unconscious demand on life. To know this as inevitable creates the impetus for a holy new wish in life, based upon a whole new set of values; such self-knowledge is the seed of inner vigilance; it is the heart of mindfulness, the soul of successful self-observation.

This higher understanding, and the acceptance of its truth, is the secret path of self-denial, the narrow gate that only an awakened need for God’s mercy can open.