Making Life Meaningful

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”

--Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, became significantly influential in encouraging and healing the Western world from the emotional, psychological, and spiritual trauma of successive events such as The Great Depression, the Spanish flu, WWI and WWII.

He called his hopeful and pragmatic framework Logotherapy.

Frankl drew from a core idea in ancient Greek philosophy called Logos. Literally the word means “word,” “reason,” or “plan,” but conceptually it refers to the divine purpose implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning. This Greek concept is also found in Indian, Egyptian, and Persian philosophical and theological systems and is the fundamental organizing idea in the first 1500 years of Christianity.

Frankl’s message is that life CAN be meaningful (even in a situation as evil and hellish as the concentration camps), HOWEVER...and it’s a BIG however...it’s up to each person to discover and cultivate that meaning for themselves.

Where do we find meaning?

Frankl points out that we find meaning in three broad areas:

Relationships

Suffering

Calling (often translated as “vocation”)

The more we intentionally anchor our life in and cultivate these three areas, the more meaningful, fulfilling, and verdant it will be. It’s in the realm of this trinity that life’s potency is derived. (It’s worth considering if anything meaningful exists outside of these.)

Not everything we do, think and believe is anchored in these either. Sometimes we find ourselves just going through the motions and drifting through life. The more we attempt to avoid (deny and depress), control (worry, conquer, and will), or anesthetize (numb out or check out) from the heartache, futility, and tragedy of life, the more meaningless, despairing, and impotent our personal existence becomes.

Our relationships remain transactional, and our energy is spent on pursuing happiness or avoiding struggle (which are not mutually exclusive).

Each day, each moment, we face meaningful or meaningless choices. The actions we take lead to resilient lives rich, with relationships and work that are consequently meaningful, OR lead us to lives that are tolerable, barren and/or destructive.

The paradox is that we can have all the riches that material success affords and be emotionally, relationally, and spiritually bankrupt.

Going Deeper

• What relationships do you find most meaningful? What about those relationships are meaningful to you?
• What moments of your life has been shaped by suffering? How does that suffering inform how you live?
• What do you spend your time doing that is meaningful to you? What is meaningful about those activities?
• How would your life be different if you spent more time in this realms?

How Sage Hill Counseling Can Help

Sage Hill is a social impact organization that provides life-changing counseling, coaching, and programs for individuals, couples, and families that disrupt the status quo and release the human heart. We provide relationship-focused, evidence-based, counseling services to help you live fully.

Get connected with us by starting the process here.