Even when we accomplish our goals, our sense of fulfillment is short-lived. With the new job come new problems. With a new relationship come all the issues of actually being with another human being. After the second book is published, there are the third and the fourth. Accomplishments and achievements are wonderful things, but they do not create a lasting sense of fulfillment. Fulfillment is not a destination. It’s not a place you can ever arrive at and settle into. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that fulfillment is available in whatever situation we find ourselves—even when our goals and dreams seem impossibly far off. We are fulfilled when our actions align with what is deepest in our hearts.

♦

From Wandering Close to Home: A Year of Zen Reflections, Consolations, and Reveries by David Rynick © 2024. Reprinted in arrangement with Daiyu Peak Press.

Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available.