A goal worthy of you (night meditation)

It is time to close up the day and open the
door to night. Invite it in. Take some time
for yourself. Breathe deeply. Feel the
tension lifting as you exhale.

Breathe in again. As your muscles relax,
think back. Reflect on your day. Let the
images flip, like a photo album in your
mind. Think about what brought you the
most satisfaction. Think about the
moments you value.

There was a man who thought a great
deal about what human beings value. His
name was Viktor Frankl. His book, Man's
Search for Meaning, stemmed from his
time in concentration camps. He wrote,
"What man actually needs is not a tensionless
state but rather the striving and struggling for
some goal worthy of him."

As you look back on your day, though it
was crowded with many responsibilities,
ask yourself if it contains a goal worthy of
you. There is no need to answer it right away. It is enough to simply pose the
question. It is like a ball of yarn that you
have sent, unwinding down a hill. Soon
you will see a thread of meaning emerge
through all the images of your life.

Answers often emerge on their own as
you explore the mountains on your life’s landscape. It is meant to go
slowly. Take your time to establish your
foundations: resting, moving, drinking
water. It is likely you will begin to notate
your thoughts, read a little more. You will
find that you set up your environment to
make habits more immediate, more
automatic. All this will lead you to your
second mountain where you take on
those deep-seated challenges you have
been wanting to overcome for a long
time. By the time you reach the third
mountain, you will be ready to answer
Viktor Frankl's question about meaning
and what it means to you.

As the night falls, wander through that
photo album in your mind. Pause awhile
on the images you find most beautiful.
Linger a little longer on the moments that
brought you joy before you close your
eyes and fall asleep. Tomorrow you wake
up and tend to your habits, one step at a
time. You will add new images to the
story of your life, and that thread of
meaning will continue to emerge.