In Search of a Meaningful Life

All of us have suffering in our lives. Whether we're able to rise above it and find fulfillment or instead get pulled under depends upon our own attitude towards our experiences. Basically, pain and disappointment are more easily borne if we feel that they have meaning. If we haven't found personal meaning in our own lives, though, our suffering seems pointless and thus much harder to endure.

We have to know ourselves in order to find a sense of purpose in this world. If you understand that there is no one else quite like you, then you can begin to understand that you came here in order to make a contribution that no one else could make. In other words, if there were no purpose to your existence then you wouldn't be here in the first place.

We feel that our lives are meaningful, then, when we're doing what it is that we came here to do. But how do we strike upon that golden road when we've been so lost amidst the chaos and the hustle of the world? For one thing, we'll need to stop searching out there for answers that are only to be found within.

Nothing in life happens by accident. We draw our experiences to us because all of them contain vital lessons for us. The same holds true for our deepest heart desires. They exist for a reason. We most strongly desire to do that which we are meant to do.

Most of us have to do a bit of digging before we strike upon that vein of gold. Much of the education that we've received thus far in life has taught us to ignore the bidding of our heart rather than listen to it. Our culture is outwardly focused. We're conditioned to learn about the way the world is and then adapt ourselves to it, rather than learn about ourselves and then find our own unique expressions.

It requires a lot of faith, then, to ignore the myriad voices all around us and follow our inner impulses. It can even feel insane, at times - or at least not all that prudent. But then again, what choice do we have? If we are here to accomplish something unique, something that only we can do, then it's pointless to try and emulate anyone else's path.

Our three greatest allies on this quest are probably courage, belief, and patience. Courage is necessary if we're to break away from the herd and strike out on our own path. Without belief, we'd never tune into - and listen to - that voice from within, the voice of our heart's true desire. Patience grants that desire sufficient time in which to take root and grow. What emerges, in the end, will be a life of meaning and purpose.