The word meaning is to determine or identify the essential qualities. Existential mattering, coherence, and a sense of purpose are three major predictors of life’s meaning. But according to Pew Research, there are three top answers to the question of the meaning of life. Family or relationships, career, and material wellbeing topped the list. Spirituality, faith, romance, and pets were at the bottom of the list. Health, society, freedom, and recreation were somewhere in the middle.
Researchers Login George and Crystal Park summed it up as a three-part construct. The degree to which a person perceives their sense of understanding life is the first part. The second is motivation by valued life goals, or the extent to which they experience life. Third was the degree to which a person believes their life is significant. These are three separate components with very similar constructs. I can see where the meaning of life involves a personal, subjective assessment. Monte Python’s The Meaning of Life comes to mind. (tee hee)
Making a contribution to the world holds great significance for many. Having a purpose is a core goal that gives direction. When connecting the past, present, and future, you have coherence. Is the sense of meaning measured by the level of contentment and happiness? Does a positive experience say it was meaningful? Can a negative event provide it? The questions are building, which gives direction and meaning to the desire for a whisper on the subject:
There is no single answer to what gives life meaning. Each individual will determine their own perspective around the meaning of their life. Identity and sense of being are major factors in making such conclusions. Any experience that carries depth will offer greater meaning to life. Are you content with your life or do your thirst for something more? Your answer indicates more about your search for essential qualities in your life.
Many will experience great meaning free from a deliberate process. Without intrusive or unwanted thoughts, unconscious engagement is likely to occur. Some are like a river that flows effortlessly to the ocean, despite the obstacles along the way. Others will seek to solve the problem of maneuvering the rapids while pursuing greater spiritual alignment with their core.
When experiencing a stressful event that does not match the appraised meaning of life, a person is compelled toward change. Such activation is part of the search for understanding life through a conceptual framework. Determining alignment to match beliefs is assimilating information to process meaning. Changing perspective with something that doesn’t match current understanding is accommodating. Both are ways to find meaning to life.
Whether one is searching for understanding or seeking significance, greater awareness will serve those assessing meaning. Self-awareness leads to expansion of cognitive processes. Emotional intelligence comes from evaluating the internal response to life. Causal understanding builds a system of integration to the overall significance of every life event. Feeling secure with self-expression brings depth to every encounter and interaction. Heart connections provide the framework to experience love with meaning while seeking without end.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.”
Thomas Merton
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