Life...

Life is an opportunity given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the
soul.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

And what is life? Life is an opportunity. To the optimistic person
the opportunity is a promise, and for the pessimistic person this
opportunity is lost. It is not that the Creator makes man lose it,
but it is man who withdraws himself from the possibility of seizing
the opportunity.

If there is something that can be accomplished today, we need not
wait for it to be accomplished tomorrow. For life is an opportunity,
and desire has the greatest power, and perfection is the promise of
the soul. We seek perfection, because perfection is the ultimate aim
and the goal of creation. The source of all things is perfect. Our
source is perfect, our goal is perfect. And therefore every atom of
the universe is working towards perfection, and sooner or later it
must arrive at perfection consciously. If it were not so, you would
not have read in the Bible, 'Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven
is perfect.'

Kabir, the great poet of India says, 'Life is a field and you are
born to cultivate it. And if you know how to cultivate this field you
can produce anything you like. All the need of your life can be
produced in this field. All that your soul yearns after and all you
need is to be got from the field, if you know how to cultivate it and
how to reap the fruit.' But if this opportunity is only studied in
order to make the best of life by taking all that one can take and by
being more comfortable, that is not satisfying. We must enrich
ourselves with thought, with that happiness which is spiritual
happiness, with that peace which belongs to our soul, with that
liberty, that freedom, for which our soul longs; and attain to that
higher knowledge which breaks all the fetters of life and raises our
consciousness to look at life from a different point of view. Once a
person has realized this opportunity he has fulfilled the purpose of
Life.