Sink or Soar- A Soul in Motion

I have recently been asking my work staff for their life goals for a meeting, it got me to thinking about my own life goals, which turned to thinking about life's moments.  When I thought about what my life goals are I realized some have been achieved and some still remain.  I have completed an Ironman and learned to scuba dive; yet, I still have dreams of standing in the shadow of Mount Everest, watching the prayer flags speak to the universe, and I still wish to run a marathon in Antarctica.  
These goals got me asking the question: WHY?  Why do I want to do these things?  What was there in achieving these feats?   
I realized my life goals were not in the actual event but in how the event would make my soul fly, if even for a mere moment. 

In life it is easy to focus on those moments in which our heart sinks and our soul hides in the darkness.  I remember many of these moments-- phone calls about friends or family members passing, watching my mother cry after the death of my grandmother, holding a friends as they cope with a divorce, grasping the hand of a child as they walk in to the unknown, or the loss of a dear pet.  Lists of these moment pile up in my mind, too many to list, but images buzz through my visions, like a flip book.  Just thinking about these moments I can feel my heart grow heavy.  I feel my chest tighten.  I feel my soul keening.

It is easy to get trapped in these moments. But when we think about it these are not the moments we think of when at the mention of "life goals".  We don't one day hope to feel loss or pain.  

We instead look to life goals to give us moments of our souls soaring.  These soaring moments, are captured in moments we may not even realize are life goals.  I never thought holding my nephews for the first time or hearing them say "I love you" would ever be a life goal, but here I am my souls souring ever higher thinking about that moment and the moments yet to come watching them grow. There are goals which I look back on fondly; like buying our first home, catching a fish with my dad (watching Patrick catch a fish with my dad was even more fulfilling), or stepping across a finish line. 

Now my life goal is to live in these moments where my soul can sore with no bounds.  Does it mean I wish to forget or ignore the moments which have left scars; absolutely not, it means those scars will be mended by these souring moments.  When life appears difficult I will not fall into the sadness of those heart sinking moments; I will instead allow those moments to pass over me but focus my energies on the moments which energize me.  

Today my life goal it to be happy- grated I want to feel happiness and souring in the shadow of Everest and in the ice of Antarctica, too!!!