The ABC's Of A Great Life: "M" Is For Meaning

 One of the cornerstones of an extraordinary life is meaning - the richness, purposefulness, and direction that stem from knowing that what you do and who you are matters deeply. So how do you achieve a life of meaning? Simply this - you make a conscious decision every day to...

...engage in those activities that actively enrich, rather than actively or passively detract, from your life and the lives of those around you,

...bring into your life sources of inspiration, exaltation, and exhilaration,

...dedicate your life to working for the common good, rather than the individual preference,

...and live in integrity with your values 24/7, neither denying them nor reserving them for specific days or specific activities.

Of course, this means giving up certain things. For example, you must give up your attachment to the outcome, knowing that sometimes what should be and what will be is not always what you would prefer or what feels good to you. You must give up the little chase for the quick fix and superficial achievements, knowing that a life of meaning is not often a life of recognition, ease, fame, or traditional success. And you must give up the need for approval and conformity because a life of meaning often takes us far away from the behaviors of and involvement in social norms and popular habits.

But for all that we give up, we gain multifold blessings in return - the feeling of pure, unadulterated joy at the brilliant spectacle of our lives, the rich and warming embrace of love and community that comes with our service to others, the ability to get up every morning knowing that what we do matters and who we are makes a difference. All of the sacrifices in the world are a pittance of an admission fee to living daily in this layered tapestry of passion, devotion, and reward.

What are you doing to bring meaning into your life? How do you serve others and the world around you? How do your day-to-day activities reflect the authentic need to live in integrity and play a higher purpose role? The trappings of a "regular life" are comforting and easy to maintain and are often hard to walk away from - especially when we realize that our friends and family may not want to join us or even accept us if we do. But a living example of a life lived with meaning is a hard siren call to resist. Perhaps as you embody more and more the rewards of such a life, you will be able to entice them, too, into creating lives of meaning and joy.