Life is suffering. We are outsiders to the world and to ourselves. Suffering is caused by craving. The most significant form of self-centered suffering takes place as we project upon everyday experience a huge burden of extraneous interpretations associations, fantasies, emotions, painful memories, and diversions. If we could be released from craving, we would be released from suffering.
Life is real.
Reality is good. Goodness, gratitude, love and joy are the natural state of the awakened mind. When people begin to feel released from their self-sustained sufferings, they experience life more fully, they become more cheerful and compassionate. The way out of suffering is through the Eightfold path. Though Buddhist meditation probably cannot be learned in any depth without direct instruction from a teacher, the external practice is simple and easy to begin.