In his essay, Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise , Thich Nhat Hanh spoke to the topic of life’s ‘ultimate concern’

“The deepest concern in you, as in many of us,” he shared. “is one you may not have perceived, one you may not have heard. Every one of us has an ultimate concern that has nothing to do with material or affective concerns. What do we want to do with our life? That is the question. We are here, but why are we here? Who are we, each of us individually? What do we want to do with our life? These are questions that we don’t typically have (or make) time to answer.”

So often we fall into the ‘routine’ of life, my loves; our happiness measured by way of external reward. In doing so, we miss the opportunity to reflect — to connect to that divine essence of who we are. It is this ultimate concern, my darlings – those probing questions which inspire our path and compel the heart’s greatest change.

Why are we here, my loves? What is it that inspires our journey? How often do we take the time to ask ourselves, that which ultimately refines our purpose?

It is this bustling of day, which drowns our clarity of focus; which presumes to know on heart’s behalf. And, we may spend the entirety of our lives listening to this external noise without once ever ‘hearing’ that voice within.

“Am I doing what I most want to be doing with my life?” he asks. “Do I even know what that is?”

It is within that answer that we find our joy.

It is true that we are shaped by our thoughts, my loves — we become what we think. And, when our minds are tuned to joy – ‘joy shall follow like a shadow that never leaves.’

Namaste ❤️