– Photo by Jan Ketchel
Life Lesson #1: Everything is meaningful.
Why do things happen the way they do? Why must I do that, confront that, be that, act like that? Why do people get sick? Why do people suddenly die? Why is life so difficult? There is always a meaningful answer. Although it may not be apparent in the moment it will eventually reveal itself.
In a seed’s planting, in a stem’s growth, an eventual blooming will take place. Such are the reasons for the events in our lives. They are our growing lessons; every event, every happening, and every choice and challenge in life are fully meaningful in the long run. Like seeds planted long before we were ever aware, they signal the greater potential that is our birthright and our destiny.
Yes, there IS meaning in everything. Even if we can’t always find it immediately, it is far better to attach a reasonable meaning than to ignore the events in our lives as simply “life.” The idea that “that’s just the way life is” has never been enough of an explanation for me. I’ve always yearned for more, have always known that everything is meaningful and everything is important to my personal journey.
If we are to accept such an idea then we must also be willing to find the importance in everything that happens to us, to those we love, and to the world at large, for we are all interconnected. So, I propose that the first lessons in addressing the events of our lives as meaningful is to search for meaning, to apply meaning, and to patiently wait for meaning to reveal itself. It may take some time, but I’ve learned that eventually meaning will more fully come to light, blossoming will happen.
Sometimes meaning is very apparent, sometimes less so. Sometimes we might instantly see the meaning for others but find it much harder to apply to ourselves. I usually find that if I see the meaning for someone else then I stay there and apply the same meaning to myself. It works, at least to begin with, in helping to face something about the self or to confront emotions or feelings that have never been apparent, or in consciousness for some time.
– Photo by Jan Ketchel
To begin with I work with what comes, with first impressions. If nothing comes, if I just cannot find meaning for myself, I apply something that makes sense with where I am and what is happening in my life.
“Oh, this might mean this or that.” And then I wait. But in the meantime I work with what “might” be true. Like a light shining into a dark tunnel it does eventually bring me a bit closer to clarity on the personal meaning of something.
A search for meaning is a bit like working with a dream. Trying to find the meaning of the symbology in a dream, aligning it with what is actually going on in our personal lives is always beneficial. Dreams aid and support our ever-changing lives, giving us insight into aspects of ourselves that need clarification, or revealing that which has been unattainable in waking life. Dreams can also give us direct and profoundly meaningful answers straight up, without the mysterious symbology that we might often encounter. Dream helpers can be very direct!
In applying meaning where none may be apparent, stay focused on where you are in your life, what’s happening inside of you and outside of you. Don’t necessarily “make up” a meaning, but try to apply meaning according to what makes sense and what you might be envisioning, or what you’ve already learned about yourself and how you generally approach life.
For instance, I can sometimes let things slide. I am fully aware that I’m doing so, putting off something that should be done. Part of me knows that I’m being avoidant, an old habit, even if ever so slightly, but there is another part of me that senses it might not be the right time to approach or do something, and so I wait. I might not have full awareness of this other part that is waiting, or why it is doing so, but the avoidant “waiting” behavior may be just the hint I need. “Don’t act now!” that part may be saying, however subliminally. At the same time I must address the dilemma: Am I just falling into an old habit? Or is this the new me telling me to wait because waiting will have a favorable outcome?
It is often a precarious approach, waiting itself offering challenges, and I never let really important things slide. I pay my bills, confront my personal issues, and face what I must during the daily ups and downs of life. At the same time there are other processes in my psyche and in my life that I just can’t ignore, and I guess that’s what I’m attempting to pass on in this blog: Don’t ignore anything because everything is meaningful, whether hidden or clearly apparent.
To find meaning in everything is a bit of an adventure. Enlightenment may come in the very process of sitting and pondering that which might be trying to get our attention. Outcome of sitting in internal pondering is like outcome of life: eventually clarity does come.
– Photo by Jan Ketchel
There is great value in intentionally sitting and pondering, in training the self to be aware and to constantly seek personal meaning, no matter what one is confronted with. Why am I put in this position now, at this time in my life? What must I learn right now? Being aware that life is always trying to teach us something is an important aspect of the search for meaning. For why otherwise are we here, if not to learn and grow beyond this reality and this human condition that we find ourselves steeped in?
As life’s lessons are faced, we become more available to notice and benefit from everything that happens to us. Each time clarity comes and new meaning is discovered a new lesson is learned and a new opportunity opens up for us too. And then all of life’s lessons become meaningfully part of the greater whole of our personal journey. And then we evolve too! So remember Lesson #1 as you take your own changing journey: Everything is personally meaningful!
Good Luck in your own quest for a meaningful life!
Jan