Do years of searching lead up to enlightenment?

How can it? There is no time and therefore of course no 'years'. Many people awaken to their true nature without having had any such desires to become enlightened. Meditation - a tool that calms down the buzzing of the mind - has no claims on enlightenment. One cannot 'become' something that is already the case. Enlightenment is a myth - a fairy - tale. Another carrot dangled by the ignorant mind. People imagine a state where one is blissfully happy and continually in a state of absolute peace and harmony. But since there is no time - there is only that which arises presently - there can not be anything permanent - as in a permanent 'state of being'. There is only 'Being' /God. Liberation is the simple case of seeing this Truth and seeing through all the stories to such an extent that seeking ends and life is simply lived as it arises.