I've been sitting with your question trying to come up with a thoughtful answer, but it's a bit nuanced.

I actually got into meditation after having some incredibly overwhelming life experiences which I didn't think I would make it through at the time. Meditation helped me integrate those experiences, but has also shown me that while certain traumas seemed life-threatening, I was challenged just exactly to my breaking point -- where I survived, but was absolutely forced to grow. I see the logos in this today, a super-ordinate wisdom of Nature which brings me exactly what I need, even if I don't think I can handle it.

I think a common misconception regarding meditation is that the more proficient you are, the more blissful, happy and peaceful life is. And while experiencing those states is certainly part of the process, I find that fundamentally, meditation is increasing awareness and that includes the awareness of both pleasure and pain. Everything in life becomes simultaneously more beautiful, but also more painful, or maybe I see pain that I wasn't aware of before. However, with more life experience and more practice, a kind of faith grows that for each new challenge that gets thrown at me, it will be for my own Good, even if it's unpleasant, painful or a messy process.

I wouldn't call myself necessarily proficient even, but this is my perspective for where I'm currently at.