The Meaning of Life, Really

Well, it was a beautiful day today in New England - sun, wind, and warmish. I spent most of it outside in the yard, cleaning out the garden, digging up weeds, harvesting mint, and raking up and bagging the pine needles and maple leaves which were strewn around our wee tenth of an acre.

Much of the time I spent beginning to plan for next year's garden. This was our first summer in this house, and aside from the tomatoes and strawberries on the deck, I didn't do any gardening. Now that fall is here and winter is on its way, I'm hoping I'll have some quality time for planning next year's plantings.

I'll post about my plans as they develop, but in the meantime, I promised a little something about the meaning of life.

I'm not feeling terribly inspired to write about the meaning of life, actually, which is probably why I managed to avoid the topic entirely in the last post. But I was thinking about it because of conversations I had last week with a couple of different people who didn't feel particularly that life had any meaning at all.

Sometimes people talk to me about that sort of thing and I mostly try to listen. In my experience, it's often surprisingly helpful simply to feel heard. Sometimes I have to try not to say what I'm thinking. I recently finished reading Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life and so what kept popping into my thought bubble, despite my best efforts and intentions, was the very first line of his very first chapter: "It's not about you." I happen to agree with him on that, but still, it's not a terribly pastoral thing to say, is it? It's too easily heard as "You're nothing," which is likely what a person questioning life's meaning is already feeling.

Of course, that's not exactly what he means. And as he goes on to say, "You are not an accident." In other words, you're wanted and you're worthy. And still, it's not about you. It's about something bigger than you. As much as I may disagree with Mr. Warren on (many) other things, them's wise words.

Anyway, here goes...here's one of the most helpful quotations on the meaning of life that I've come across in my 36 years. This one is from Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, which was always on our family's bookshelf when I was growing up, but which I don't think I ever actually read until last year. Maybe it would have helped me back when I was actively searching for the meaning of life. But, then, maybe I wasn't ready for it then.

Frankl, reflecting on his experience in a Nazi concentration camp, wrote:

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life - daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual."

I'll let that stand for itself. I don't have much to add, really. And I've got to go get some sleep and get myself ready to answer to a new day.