pressure

It seems like most of the world is designed to impede spiritual growth, but this might just be an impression. It could be similar to the pressure needed to create diamonds, which are rare and valuable compared to ordinary stone.

Being surrounded by so much noise, suffering and insanity seems to have the effect of pushing certain localizations of consciousness inward, fueling inner expansion and refinement. This doesn't always seem to be the case, as it seems to be more likely overall that the consciousness becomes consumed and essentially assimilated into the surrounding impressions. But here and there, diamonds are forming and emerging into the world.