We, as human beings, are a part of the natural world and possess all its qualities, whether we realize it or not. We are born with these natural qualities, but as we grow up and socialize, layers of conditioning get imposed upon us. This causes us to slowly lose our true selves and become a person created by this conditioning.
Our natural true self is like a mirror, and conditioning is like layers of dust. The mirror does not need to be achieved; it is already there or rather, here. The mirror is not lost but is only hidden behind the layers of dust, which we can realize through meditation.
We don't have to follow a path to reach our true nature because we cannot leave our true selves; we cannot go anywhere else. Most of the time, we ignore it, not even listening to ourselves. Our minds and senses constantly look outside, and we are endlessly running to satisfy them. We have so many things to achieve, and it's multiplying. Sometimes we achieve our big goal with hard effort and feel happy and satisfied for a while, but it doesn't last long. We still feel something missing, that is the connection to our deeper self, our inner voice. Meditation is a way to connect to our true existence.