I slept and dreamt
that life was joy.
I awoke and saw
that life was duty.
I worked – and behold,
duty was joy.
R. Tagore
There is a story of a man in the early 1900’s who was sentenced to life in prison and was to be deported to Devil’s Island. In transit, a fire broke out on his ship, the Leviathan, and he was released from his shackles. He ended up saving the lives of 10 men and was later pardoned for his prior crimes.
Had you asked the man as he was getting on the ship if his life had any meaning, any purpose ahead of him, he would have likely told you his life was over. He would waste away his days in a cell. But life had other plans for him.
None of us know what’s waiting for us in life. However, we must continue forward and be vigilant for the opportunities life places before us. A defining moment may be on its way and you wouldn’t even know it…
What is the meaning of life? This is the question we have undoubtedly asked ourselves before. When we are searching for the answers to this great question we often look outside ourselves. We ask others what their thoughts are so we can compare and contrast them to our own ideas.
Viktor Frankl studied the impact of having a life purpose on one’s will to live in the concentration camps during World War II and he posed an interesting concept. This idea completely reframes the passive question, “What is the meaning of life?” to one that allows us a far more active role in the unfolding of our destiny.
Frankl urges us to instead ask, “What does life expect of me?”
The question, therefore, is not some abstract idea to be pondered but a question directed at each and every one of us every moment of our lives. The question is tailored to the individual and can only be answered by being aware and present within your current circumstances.
There is no one answer. The solution to life’s greatest question can only be unveiled by you, it lies dormant within you waiting to be awakened.
The universe presents a life before us as a call to action. When we pray for courage, strength, or patience, we are given opportunities to be courageous, to be strong, to be patient. We are not given those values as a gift but given the chance to practice them daily. The universe opens the door but you must walk through it. You must do the work.
How will you respond to life’s questions? Life will expect a different answer at different points in our lives and it is our responsibility to humbly flow with whatever we are given. When you become lost try to silence your mind and ask to be shown what you’re meant to see or to learn. The answer will come if you let it.
Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human.
Viktor Frankl
With the story of the man sentenced to life in prison in mind, we can see that “What is the meaning of life” is posed too simply. It would be like asking a chess master what the best move in chess is. There is no one answer.
Each moment, each move requires a different thought process that can only be successful when you are present with the current circumstances before you. It would make no sense to study the chess position of a different game to help you find a move within your own.
Frankl believed there are three areas that people find purpose in their lives. The first is through action. It is in creating something bigger than us, something that lasts longer than us, or that helps progress the world forward that we find meaning.
The second is through gratitude and love. This love can be for nature, art, or people. It is through appreciation of the beauty in our lives that we are able to see just how blessed we are. Søren Kierkegaard said, “the door to happiness always opens outward.”
The third is by how a person adapts to the limits of their own unavoidable fate, whether that be facing death, an illness, or the unfortunate circumstances they have found themselves in. Through this, even our suffering has meaning.
A man on death row was asked what he wanted for his last meal. The man said he wanted nothing seeing as he was “feeding a corpse.” He felt that with death looming before him, pleasure would add no meaning to his life.
But all of life lays before death. By that very thinking, nothing we do would matter because we all are destined to die. It is actually the exact inverse that is true. It is death that gives meaning to life. It is suffering that allows us to understand joy. Without the cold, we wouldn’t know warmth. Without darkness, we wouldn’t know light.
Even if we tried to fill our lives with pleasure, ideally the most pleasure possible, we still would not find fulfillment. Therefore the lack of pleasure in one’s life cannot take anything away from the meaning and purpose of that life.
Life can only become more meaningful the tougher it gets. It requires us to sit with the question “What does life expect of me?” in both joy and in suffering.
Ultimately, your purpose may not just come from one avenue but a combination of them. It is through our actions, our love, and our suffering that we can find meaning.
As you can see, this post is not meant to answer the question of “What is the meaning of life?” but instead aims to open a doorway within your mind that you and you alone can step through. You are tasked with answering “What does life expect of me?” each day.
You’ll find as you and your circumstances change, so does your answer. Life is not a two-dimensional puzzle that can be completed but an ever-changing complexity of lessons to be learned. Life is here to help guide you deeper within your own heart and mind, to find and reach the full potential your true self is capable of. That is what I believe the true meaning of life to be.
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This is absolutely fantastic! Brilliant, in fact, yet so simple. It’s all in how the question is asked.
I agree wholeheartedly.
How is the question….asked?
Each moment requires something different of us. Some may require patience while others require courage. Sometimes we must be disciplined and other times we need to learn to relax. Keep asking the question, “What is life asking of me” and you’ll begin to hone your self-knowledge and know when to apply what principles. The answers to the same question in the same moment will be different for each of us.
Thank You Nicholas. Wonderful words.
Litt Clark
I loved every bit of this. Thank you for sharing!
I treasure reading each of these posts and love to reread them and this one is worth a daily read! Yesterday I received a holiday card from My former employer that included a quote from Picasso- “the meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
Thank you for writing about this subject. Love how you guided us through the question. When dealing with a chronic illness it is a question I am confronted with. As you outlined often it can be multi dimensional — in my situation life often asks for courage and patience simultaneously. One of the consequences has been tremendous joy. I like being able to go forward knowing I am using every part of my being to experience moments that matter and bring fulfullment. Thank you again for so beautifully writing about what is important to ask.