Why would you meditate?

Recently I was diagnosed with some disappointing news regarding my health. 
The first thing that 'kicked-in' was my gratitude toward my Meditation and Mindfulness practices. I recognized the initial disappointment that naturally arose from the diagnosis, and yet a very solid foundation of calmness was present, and the sadness I felt turned to acceptance. I had clarity and peace-of-mind.
Most of us grow up believing that the best way to live is to avoid pain and hold tightly to comfort. It feels natural—after all, even the smallest creatures move toward what is safe and familiar. Yet when comfort becomes our only goal, life grows smaller. We miss the depth and richness waiting just beyond what feels easy.
There is another way.
A way of kindness, of adventure, of joy.
It begins with curiosity.
When we stop asking whether an experience is bitter or sweet, pleasant or unpleasant, we step into a more spacious way of being. Life becomes less about control and more about discovery. At the edge of discomfort, where we might usually turn away, something precious often reveals itself.
This is also the heart of meditation. Too often, we think of practice as a way to fix ourselves—to become calmer, kinder, somehow better. But meditation is not about erasing who we are or throwing parts of ourselves away. It is about befriending ourselves, just as we are, in this very moment. With loving-kindness—maitri—we sit with our fears, our doubts, even our restlessness. These do not make us unworthy. They make us human.
Even the ego, so often treated as an enemy, is not something to destroy. It, too, has lessons to teach. When we meet it with curiosity instead of hostility, it shows us how we cling, how we protect ourselves, how we long to be seen. Every part of us, even the ones we resist, has something to reveal.
The path of meditation is the path of life itself. Both call us to turn toward what is here, not someday in the future, but now. To live with curiosity is to live fully awake. And when we do, life becomes not just about avoiding pain, but about discovering the vast, tender, and surprising truth of being alive.
Wouldn't you like to shape your future to one that is fulfilling life?