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June 15 , 2007 Your Life’s Meaning Speaking to groups has always been something I enjoy. The most unforgettable of them occurred several years ago, on a September 11th. Yes, that September 11th. Early that morning I was in suit and tie, eating breakfast as I studied my speech notes, when a neighbor phoned. “Got your TV on” she shouted? I replied “no”, and she cried “turn it on now” and abruptly hung up. I turned the TV on and saw what we all saw, - the horrors of that tragic morning in New York City. Watching the events unfold, I was paralyzed. Then I suddenly remembered that I had to give a talk to a Kiwanis club, in about an hour. “It surely will be cancelled,” I thought. But, I couldn’t assume that, so I had to show up. Then it hit me that what I was going to speak about would be totally irrelevant given the events of the morning. But, what would I speak about? Anxiously, I went to my bookshelves looking for inspiration. As I glanced through the titles, my eye caught Viktor Frankl’s great book, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” I picked it up, flipped through its pages, many of them worn and passages highlighted in yellow. I tucked it under my arm and headed for the meeting. It was well that I showed up. There were at least 25 in attendance. With Frankl’s book as the basis for it, I gave my talk. Frankl, was a noted psychologist, author and lecturer who, as many of you know, survived several years in a Nazi Death Camp during WWII, but lost all of his family in that camp: mother, father, brother and wife. He survived the horrors of the camp, and his book chronicles what he learned from the experience. He observed that those who most often survived were those who had a strong purpose in life to live for. And while many, living in the inhumanity of the camp, would ask, in their various ways, “what is the meaning of life,” Frankl wrote that they were asking the wrong question. The question we should all be asking is, “what is the meaning of my life?” That, he said, is what we should all attempt to discover. Life, he suggests, owes us nothing. “Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems and to fulfill the task which it constantly sets for each individual.” What we owe life is to stand for something bigger than our own selfish interests and our ridiculous bodies. People with such purpose and passion in their lives not only seem to endure pain and hardship, they also seem to live happier, more fulfilling lives. Sometime ago a reader called my attention to a true story in one of Robert Fulghum’s books, “It Was On Fire When I Layed Down on It.” It recounted the story of Alexander Papaderos, a philosopher who founded an institute devoted to healing the wounds of war. At the conclusion of one of his speeches, someone raised his hand and asked “the” question, “What is the meaning of life?” Soft laughter followed and people stirred to leave, but Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the room. He said, “I will answer your question.” He fished from his wallet a very small round mirror, about the size of a quarter.. He said that during the war, when he was a small boy, he came across a German motorcycle which had crashed on the road, and he found broken pieces of mirror scattered about. He picked up the largest piece, and scratching it with a stone, he made it round. He began to play with it and became fascinated by how he could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine...in deep holes, crevices and dark closets. Throughout his childhood he continued to play this game, shining light into the most inaccessible places. As he became a man, he said he grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game, but a metaphor for what he might do with his life. He knew he was not the light, nor the source of it, but light - truth, understanding, knowledge - is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if he would reflect it. He came to understand that he could reflect light into the dark places of this world, into the black places and in the hearts of people...and change something in some people. And, perhaps others might see and do likewise. He then said, “this is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.” You and I don’t have to start an organization, or a movement, in order to have a worthwhile purpose in our lives. We all can find ways, large and small, in which we can shine light into the lives of others, to bring truth, understanding, and knowledge perhaps, or by lifting the burden from another’s shoulders. Whether we do it with our work, or outside our work, each of us possess our own little mirror, - some gift, talent, knowledge or resource - that can reflect light where it is needed in the world. Whatever you do, make it personal. Set yourself a goal, and stretch yourself to go one step beyond the ordinary. Joseph Campbell, the preeminent scholar, writer and teacher, once said that one of the many distinctions between the celebrity and the hero, is that one lives only for self and the other acts to redeem society. When you think of how much of ourselves we devote to our own creature comforts and to seeking pleasure, we should remember how temporary pleasure is. The happiness that comes as a result of that pleasure - be it a great meal or driving your Lexus - is fleeting. In a short time we are empty again, seeking some new pleasure. Gratification, on the other hand, is lasting, and deep, and the basis of true happiness. We cannot know the meaning of life. But we must search for the meaning of our own lives. It is in finding it, and living it, that we can find inner peace. ***************************************************************************** “The ultimate aim of the quest must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom and the power to serve others “ Joseph Campbell *****************************************************************************
To read the previous issue's articles
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