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The uneasiness we feel looking at some of these pictures is understandable. The world-renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, author of the classic bestseller, Man’s Search for Meaning, famously proposed that the search for meaning is our primary, intrinsic motivation.
Dr. Frankl also thinks that we don't really create meaning. Instead, we find it. (Even if we don't look for it.) That's largely because only the search for meaning holds the potential to bring the kind of authentic enrichment and fulfillment that most of us desire in our lives.
We can actually employ this in our everyday life. And it's not that hard. Alex Pattakos, Ph.D., who is the co-author of two books on the human quest for meaning, Prisoners of Our Thoughts and The OPA! Way, thinks that applying the concept is not about finding an answer to the big existential question, "what is the meaning of life”; rather, it is the search for meaning in your own life that is most important.
"Meaning comes in all shapes and sizes," Pattakos wrote. "Sometimes it looms big in our life; sometimes it slips in almost unobserved. In short, meaning is different for everyone—there is no one right answer—there is only the answer that is right for you."
A U.S. Army veteran with expertise in political science, psychology, and existential philosophy, Pattakos believes that we cannot answer the bigger questions about meaning in our life unless we discover answers to the smaller ones, such as "What are we doing?" "Why are we doing it?" "What do our lives mean to us?" "What does our work mean?"
"Every day our lives are rich with meaningful answers, but only if we stop long enough to appreciate meaning will it bloom in our lives," he said.
"By reflecting upon our existence and seeking to detect the meaning of life’s moments, we also create the opportunity to draft our personal legacy. In other words, how do we want to be remembered?"
So basically, it’s up to us to detect the meaning of the experiences we have each day. Interestingly, these scholars believe meaning can be found even when we do not get to be happy. Dr. Frankl was convinced that, in the final analysis, there is no situation that does not contain within it the seed of a meaning.
"Meaning comes with being 'who' we are in this world. When you believe something is meaningful, it is because it resonates with your true nature or core essence. When you believe something lacks meaning or is meaningless, it is because it does not resonate with your true nature or core essence," Pattakos said. "In a metaphysical way, your life involves the continual search for a closer connection to your true nature or core essence, throughout each day and over the course of your entire life."
The quest to discover and embrace our core essence is a big challenge because when you think about it, many people focus on what type of job or career they think they should have, where they should live, or with whom they should have relationships but, in the words of Pattakos, "a truly meaningful life starts from, remains engaged with, and ultimately returns to one’s core essence—awakening our true selves by connecting to whom we really are."
"Fundamentally, we believe that meaning should be at the core of all that we do, each day. In order to live a complete life, we must understand what brings us meaning in/to our lives and what drains meaning from our lives," Pattakos said. "When we know this, all things become clearer. We come to know and feel more confident in our decisions and direction, and we also notice more energy flowing to and through us to others. In other words, we are no longer working against the flow of who we really are."