“Life,” he told me, “ought to be filled with always striving for something. It keeps life interesting.”
Intuitively I felt that he was right in some way. It reminded me of the concept of “flow”, where you’re so engaged in an activity that is just beyond your comfort level that you lose all sense of self; but at the same time, I felt that “always striving” wasn’t always necessary.
Was it not possible to achieve bliss through the reading of a good book on a rainy Saturday morning?
Donn, fragments 
I think the concepts of “flow” and “always striving” are somewhat separate. Flow requires highly focused concentration, but it also strikes me as having a certain sense of effortlessness which may be inimical to always striving. Speaking for myself to enter into “flow” I need to be more or less relaxed, whereas I associate “striving” with a more uptight, nervous mentality.
@Kaosu, great point. Flow is certainly a very positive state, while striving not always one. Wasn’t really my intention to lump them together. I suppose what I was trying to do was to differentiate between the goal-oriented striving with the nothing-oriented “being”?