A quote from the brilliant Rainer Maria Rilke clings to the side of my refrigerator, reminding me that we are all living in process. Rilke writes, “I beg you…to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language.” I have unresolved questions. What is a good life? I know it has nothing to do with achievements. Certificates, degrees and awards are bread for the ego, but they don’t keep anyone warm at night. I am certain that it’s not the accumulation of possessions, because  those objects say more about you than they can say to you. And…there’s another question: What does it mean to be loved? Rilke says, …”don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them.” I know that being loved is a desire I have. I also know that it’s not the same as being respected, or admired, or seen as competent or well-educated. Or, is it? I know that love is something shining and beautiful in me…and in others. Sharing it is another matter. If we show love in our deeds– our caring, interest, concern for others, it does warm us unlike feeding selfish desires. The questions can be both haunting and inspiring. Rilke answers my questions: ” …and the point is, to live everything, live the questions now…perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” I am therefore advised to live mindfully, to enjoy the ordinary questions in an extraordinary way, because “now” is my only opportunity to actually experience the heart of the questions.