"Our goals should be entirely personal. No one knows us better than we know ourselves. There is only one universal goal: a gracious death with no regrets."
--365 Tao -- Daily Meditations; by Deng Ming-Dao
A death with no regrets.
That is a goal indeed.
I have very few regrets.
(One major one,
with several minor tie-ins.
The story is familiar
and not the purpose
of this writing.)
Shall I live each day
with this in mind?
What will I regret?
What would I do
if I could live perfectly?
Not as a perfect being, no.
Who could live that way?
But as a life that I can
look back on with a smile.
A life I can claim proudly.
What if I died tomorrow
-- would I regret the way that I lived today?
What if I die a hundred years from now
-- will the way I live bring me graciously to that end?
What are my goals?
What do I hope to accomplish today?
Tomorrow? Three months,
or a year, or five years from now?
A target.
Something to shoot for.
A bulls-eye.
If I miss... Well.
So long as I have practiced,
and aimed to my best ability...
So long as I have picked
a goal worth shooting for,
I don't think that's anything to regret.
To love. To care.
To create and to share in beauty.
I cannot and will not regret that.
Even when I miss.
No comments:
Post a Comment