Peace And Quiet
Few have the will to pursue a realization like Siddhartha's. Instead, we wander like a disoriented desert traveler who sees a lush oasis in the distance. The oasis is actually just the reflection of heat on sand, yet out of desperation, thirst, and hope, the wanderer identifies it as water. Using his last strength to get there, he discovers it is only a mirage and becomes filled with disappointment.
Even though we don't consider ourselves to be so desperate, and believe that we are well educated, sane, and sober, when we see and feel that everything truly exists, we are behaving like the man in the desert. We rush to find authentic companionship, security, recognition, and success, or simply peace and quiet. We may even succeed in grasping some semblance of our desires. But just like the wanderer, when we depend on external substantiation, eventually we are disappointed. Things are not as they seem: they are impermanent and they are not entirely within our control.
-from What Makes You Not a Buddhist