No matter how long we have been practicing life can still be disheartening. Michael O’Neill shares his recent experience as a Zen practitioner.

With his future plans thwarted and feeling dejected, Michael O'Neill falls back on his training in Zen to find a way forward.

Zen practice can’t stop bad things from happening to us but it can help us face them. Michael O’Neill concludes his experience of dealing with disappointment and loss.

Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward.

When training for something it's sensible to keep track of our progression. When it comes to Zen training however, this doesn't quite seem to work, in fact it can become quite a serious obstacle.