The mind can do wonderful and unexpected things. Meditators who are having a
difficult time achieving a peaceful state of mind sometimes start thinking,
“Here we go again, another hour of frustration.” But often something strange
happens; although they are anticipating failure, they reach a very peaceful
meditative state. My first meditation teacher told me that there is no such
thing as a bad meditation. He was right. During the difficult meditations
you build up your strength, which creates meditation for peace. We may want
to spend much time—months or even years—developing just these first two
preliminary stages, because if we can reach this point, we have come a long
way indeed in our meditation. In that silent awareness of “just now,” we
experience much peace, joy, and consequent wisdom.
-Ajahn Brahm, Stepping Towards Enlightenment