Essay 16 - Obvious Candidates for Cultivation

What one person finds meaningful may not be meaningful to another person. So, we will look at some obvious candidates that you can explore. Religious observation, dedication to an important cause, volunteer work and certain kinds of public service work are good places to start. It is important that one agrees with the mission of the organization and that the mission is one you feel is worthwhile.

It is unlikely that you will pick one, begin participating, and immediately be infused with meaningfulness. However, if the activity is one that you enjoy, you might participate in until it becomes more meaningful. How does that happen?

It is key to see the work of the organization as providing something important. If the organization has a history of providing something important, so much the better and you should attempt to understand that history. The goal here is to see the organization as something much greater than yourself that does something that matters. Finally, you need to see yourself as a part of this much greater thing. Volunteering at a soup kitchen for homeless people, and hating every minute of it, will probably not add much meaning to your life, unless you see yourself as a martyr or a saint.

There is a risk here as there is a risk with anything you do. You may become disenchanted with the organization or its mission as you learn more about it. However, the search for meaning, like anything else, is something that you get better at if you keep trying. So, if your first choice does not work try another, then another. If it continues to fail, then maybe you are just not an organization kind of person and you need to find a more personal path to meaning. How do you do that? Well keep reading.

This essay is 310 words long and the audio is 2 1/2 minutes.