Bike to Work Day

Today, in this part of California at least, was Bike to Work Day. I think it's so cool to have a day for something like that. If only there were more of them in a year. Though, that's easy for me to say. Since Marc works from home and I work for him, we don't have a commute to worry about, nor do we typically add much to the daily amounts of car emissions mixing in our atmosphere. There is great peace of mind about that when I put on my green "every day is earth day" hat. (Love that hat.)

I felt a little left out that we weren't able to bike to work, so this afternoon we decided instead to go on a bike ride in honor of the day. Marc happened to have an appointment and I decided to tag along. While he was in his meeting, I found a shady spot of grass under a large redwood tree. After enjoying a quick, but deeply touching, phone conversation with an amazing and wise friend, I opened up the book I brought with me - Viktor Frankl's Man's Search For Meaning. 

As I was hurrying out the door, I grabbed it without a second thought, because honestly if there is one topic that has been weighing more heavily on my mind lately, it's my search for meaning and purpose. It's been a matter of serious prayer, pleadings for answers that have caused many tears to fall. I've turned to various sources, seeking answers to my questions. Today, I was hoping that Mr. Frankl would fill in some of the gaps, that I would find some insight, some perspective, some understanding about the purpose of suffering. I picked up where I had left off who-knows-how-many-months-ago, and not even two sentences in, I was reading words that offered an abundance of light. Had I had a red pencil with me, I would have marked every sentence of the dozen or so pages I read. 

Here's just one phrase I will share that made its impact on me today:

We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.

Beautiful.

With a number of competing thoughts vying for my attention lately, between my friend's encouraging words and the ideas expressed by Mr. Frankl, direction for some choices I've been considering seemed so clear.

Now, I'm just hoping those feelings will stay with me in the coming days as I continue my search for meaning. If I didn't know any better I would give all the credit to Bike to Work Day.