The thing................................

What do you want out of life?  You might answer this question by saying that you want a caring spouse, a good job, and a nice house, but these are really just some of the things you want in life.  In asking what you want out of life, I am asking the question in its broadest sense.  I am asking not for the goals you form as you go about your daily activities but for your grand goal in living.  In other words, of the things in life you might pursue, which is the thing you believe to be the most valuable?

-William B. Irving,  A Guide To The Good Life (the ancient art of stoic joy)