It’s a powerful thing to be asked point blank: What is it that you want more than anything else in life? I’ve recently heard two separate spiritual teachers ask this same question, in slightly different ways, and then began reading a new book that emphasized Jesus asking this exact question in John 1:38: What do you want?    John the Baptist’s disciples started following Jesus, and when Jesus realizes he’s being followed, he turns around and asks, “What do you want?”    On first read, that can be a pretty blunt question, and it is… But I have to believe it wasn’t said in the way WE might say it if two strangers started following us. “What do you want?” “What are you looking for in life? What is it that your hearts are after?”    This is one of those questions that no one can avoid answering… Whether you realize it or not, whether it’s intentional or completely accidental, your life is oriented towards something. You’re already putting energy into some sort of idea or dream or vision of what an ideal future would look like.   We say this to our clients all the time: “You already have a brand, whether you know it or not.” When we’re talking about “branding,” all we’re talking about is your reputation. What comes to mind when your name comes up. When someone says “John Emery” in a group conversation, what stories and thoughts and opinions arise? That’s my reputation. Whether you realize it or not, you have a brand.    Whether you realize it or not, your life is demonstrating what it is that you truly want.    Blaise Pascal: “You have to wager. It is not up to you, you are already committed.”    You can’t not bet your life on something. You can’t not be headed somewhere. We live leaning forward, bent on arriving at the place we long for.    There’s this great word that a new author I’m reading introduced me to:   TELOS: The place we unconsciously strive toward is what ancient philosophers of habit call our “telos”—our goal, our end. But the telos we live toward is not something that we primarily know or believe or think about rather, our telos is what we want, what we long for, what we crave.   I had a spiritual teacher encourage me to sit down and answer the question: “What do you want?” and journal a few sentences. Then ask, “Is there anything you want more than that?” and journal a few sentences. Then ask again, “Is there anything you want more than THAT?” and keep going until you reach the deepest heart of your desire. This is an exercise to do completely alone, not sharing it with anyone, so that there’s no pressure to act or perform or produce something that you think someone ELSE might want for you.    You, in your heart of hearts, what’s at the center of your desires for your life?    It’s not a question of whether you long for some version of the kingdom, but of which version you long for.   Paying attention to our hearts… On the adventure of life, they’re part compass and part GPS… They’re part engine and part homing beacon… The longings of our hearts both point us in the direction of a kingdom and propel us toward it.    Restlessness until we are in our proper place… Augustine quote on page 13-14. Example of diving down with a noodle and trying to put it on the bottom of the pool. It is “restless” when its held under water. It keeps trying to rip away from your hands, or stopping your momentum entirely until it’s returned to the surface. It wants to be floating. In the opposite way, when I try to float in fresh water, my body weight wants to take me down to the bottom. I’ve finally figured out how to float in salt water, but fresh water is another thing entirely.    If our hearts are absorbed with material things, then our love is a weight that drags us downward to inferior things. But if our hearts are caught on fire for larger, more beautiful things, then our hearts tend to lift us upward.    I think one of the great tragedies we see unfolding around us (that we’re actually growing calloused towards) is seeing people orient their lives around things that clearly will fail them. Whether it’s from your own personal experience or from wisdom that others have passed along to you… Seeing people point everything they have towards things that ultimately will leave them feeling unsatisfied.   I see it all the time with men and their careers. Perhaps the gift of being one step removed from their ambition, I’m able to play out where all that energy ends up, even at its’ absolute best, and see a life that is still lacking certain significance. Money is wonderful, influence is a gift… But at what cost?    “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? ...what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”Matthew 16:26   I’m not positive whether Jesus was speaking in an eternal sense, forfeiting our souls, or if He’s simply speaking to the lack of fulfillment we’d experience here on earth… Regardless, at either end of that spectrum, is a wasted life. Or at least a life unfulfilled. Untapped potential.    What is it that you want more than anything else in life? Is there anything you want more than that?  What about more than THAT?    We’re all orienting our lives around SOMETHING… let’s not have that direction set by accident, or set by someone else. With Pascal’s wager metaphor… What is it that you’re willing to wager your one, sacred life on? Is it more money? Moving up the ladder? Is it reform? Challenging those in power and changing the way things are? Is it beauty? Building, creating, crafting, forming things that have never been created before? Is it reconciliation and restoration to people that have been wronged, or have given up hope?    What is it, that if you gave your life to it, even if you die before it comes to fruition, you’ll be satisfied at the contribution you made along the way?    I know this is big stuff to consider, but it’s the kind of stuff we should be considering, right?    If we’re reminded of ANYTHING on a daily basis, it’s how short our lives are. And if we only have 50, 40, 30 years left… What will we spend our time pursuing? What legacy will be left behind?    When your name comes up in conversation, what will they say about you?    I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes from Black Elk, “Behold this day, for it is yours to make.”    I love you guys, Make it a good day.