Finding meaning and purpose in life is a pretty
satisfying accomplishment. We are all
seekers in pursuit of happiness and success, and that looks very different to
each person.
One of the more significant books I’ve
read is Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for
Meaning”. Dr. Frankl was a victim of
the Nazi concentration camps and he survived the experience.
How he survived is of interest to us in
this space today. Dr. Frankl concluded
from this horrific experience that “man
can only live by looking into the future.”
I doubt whether any of us reading this
today have experienced the horrors of a prisoner-of-war encampment, yet the principle
is true.
Are you a stay-at-home mom?
Are you a career diplomat?
Do you sell gadgets?
Do you sing or write books?
Do you teach?
Then you must constantly be a person who
is looking into the future. We all have
hopes and dreams, and it is in pursuit of those dreams that we find fulfillment
and hope.
Many of my readers have their own faith-based
religious views. At the heart of those
beliefs you will find a faith and confidence in the God of our understanding
who gives our lives meaning.
Dr. Frankl observed first-hand that those
who survived the Nazi work/death camps did so because they clung to hope for
some kind of future happiness. There is
a deep sense inside each human being for a sense of purpose. Mankind wants desperately to find meaning in life.
Frankl notes this: “Man is
that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz. However, he is also the being who emerged from
those chambers upright, with the Lord’s Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his
lips.”
Finding meaning is the ultimate outlook
on life. Frankl says: “Everything
can be taken away from man but one thing – to choose one’s attitude in a given
set of circumstances; to choose one’s own way.”
Dr. Frankl held onto the image he carried
in his mind of his beloved wife and his hope for their future. He saw many succumb who could have survived,
yet perished because they lacked the will.
They lacked will because they lacked hope.
Man can only survive by looking to the
future. Meaning must
And so we bring this home.
Where are you finding meaning in your
life?
Some find it in a highly fulfilling job.
Others in their family and kids
Religious beliefs are great sources for
meaning in life
A sense of calling motivates others, and
we’re not just talking about being a preacher, minister, priest or missionary.
In some ways I am called to write and
speak, offering hope, encouragement, and inspiration one word at a time.
Meet a few of my friends who have found
significance in their work.
~Chuck is called to the bookstore world.
~Ken is a genius at musical editing and
arranging.
~Ronn is the world’s greatest symphonic
orchestrator in my opinion.
~Myrle is one of the most engaging and
knowledgeable policemen you would ever want to know.
What gives your life meaning? Then do that one thing with all that is
within you. Do it with excellence.
Be great at your craft.
P Michael
Biggs
Offering
Hope
Encouragement
Inspiration
One Word
at a Time
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