My friend was recently speaking with her spiritual Teacher about the amount of illness and death those close to her are experiencing. Her Teacher showed empathy, then said:

“Well, you know how it’s going to end. The question is how you will use the time between now and then.”

It struck me when she shared the story – yes, I do in fact know how it’s going to end (this iteration of life, anyway). Sitting with the question, “what will I do between now and then?” seems that it should be easy – but in fact I find it quite challenging.

Easy because it’s not hard to answer the question, “what matters most to me?” Difficult because there are so many ways to pursue those things, and I find myself moving in many directions, often distracted. The question then, I guess becomes: what gives me the most joy? And what will allow me, at the end of it all to know that I’ve lived and loved well, and perhaps made a small difference in the lives of others?

I took a “think day” earlier this week (I’ll be doing lots more of those) to consider those questions as they relate to Imago. It was more than useful; it was clarifying and offered me the chance to not only notice what matters most, but to be accountable to those things as well – and create a plan.

I was inspired by an e-book that’s been sitting on my desktop for the past few months, a co-op resource created by Seth Godin. In it, over 70 thinkers (“big names” and “small”) meditate on the question, “what matters now?” and have some intriguing answers. You can access and download it here or by clicking the image below.

What most matters to you right now?

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