The Meaning of Life is made, not found. Robert Holden
As I was studying to be a psychologist, we had many guest lecturers during the course of our program. Most were serious, focused on academic research and centered on the question of “what is wrong with people?”
But one was a rare psychiatrist. For starters he was warm, kind and wholehearted and he liked to laugh. He was famous for his motto “one laugh is worth two tablets.” Freddie was like a wise-old owl. I learned a lot from him. I remember him on our last meeting before his death, saying to me, “ the search for the meaning of life is folly-the meaning of life is made, not found.” Freddie’s’ uncle was the internationally renowned psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning and founder of Logotherapy, heralded as “The Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy after Freud and Adler. Logos is a Greek work that denotes “meaning”. Viktor Frankl believed that man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in life.
Viktor Frankle was a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. His horrific experiences taught him that people can survive any hardship if they are able to make a positive meaning out of it. “Even the worst circumstances can be transformed by our minds,” he wrote.
The meaning of life is not a search, it’s a choice. The world means nothing by itself. Meaning is not found in things; meaning is what you make of things. You give it all the meaning it has. Thus, the meaning of life is a choice you make, not just once, but every waking moment of your day.
Life is like art; it’s all about the interpretation. The moment anything happens to you, you interpret a meaning for it. The meaning you choose governs your perception, your thinking, your faith, your choices, your feelings, your behaviors- Everything! Whenever you elect a new meaning, this changes everything…this is a great key to healing and to success.
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so,” wrote Shakespeare. For example:
• A speeding ticket might mean the world is out to get you, or you need to slow down.
• Being fired might mean the end of your life, or a new beginning.
• A friend acting out of character may mean he/she doesn’t love you, or he/she is calling for help.
Your ego is an avid interpreter.
It is so quick to interpret things as good or bad, wrong or right. It never fails to see the little picture. This is particularly so during a crisis when so much judgement, fear, anxiety and panic fills your mind that it is almost impossible to perceive your own best interests.
Whenever I experience any trouble, I try to do the 180 shift. I look at what is troubling me and I ask myself – What if bad is good, wrong is right, and this trouble is a gift? The fact is this could mean anything…shifting my thoughts helps to suspend the ego’s fear mongering. It also helps me to be open and receptive to higher thoughts.
Fear is not in things; fear is only in the meaning you give things. Change the meaning and the fear and the pain are transformed.
As we look at the events of the past few months remember…MEANING IS A CHOICE, NOT A SEARCH. What meaning will you give it?
If you are having trouble, try the 180 shift and see where it takes you.
