I recently met someone who is terrified of not doing anything meaningful in their life. When I asked them what would make them feel like they have accomplished the promised feeling of peacefulness by achieving whatever they think constitutes of Meaningful their reply was: money.
I have heard different, much more profound answers to the same question, e.g. giving and helping others, creating something worth remembering, leaving a mark on history etc. But in my head, oh in my unnecessarily, self over-complicated mind I have began to disagree.
I used to think when I was younger that I will be happier if I lived somewhere else, had a degree, had a job (which later was upgraded to having a grown-up job), have friends, have these shoes. Fuck, I even thought at one point I will be happier if I had a better profile picture on my social media account (fyi it was a long time ago!). I have spend a very large proportion of my life so far thinking if I somehow get the things I believe would make me happy my life will be meaningful. But I was so wrong, I only had my eye on the goal and it is the journey that is the most important part. I have found that my life is meaningful every single day, every single moment. I do however very rarely feel its meaningfulness, it is a hard work to change your pre-existing perceptions of life in the space of a few months and begin to fully appreciate every single moment.
What makes my life meaningful is the realisation of the value of each little moment and everyone can easily feel that blissfulness too (gosh am beginning to sound like one of those spiritual books that tries to sell you a subscription to rapture). I try to feel my meaningfulness at least once a day (always start small!). The simplest way for me is whenever I am crossing a road, I always always wait for the green light, even if there are no visible cars. Firstly, it relaxes me, I feel at peace because I don't rush myself in that particular moment while I wait for the GO signal. I empty my mind, nothing else exists (no worries, no thoughts) until its time to safely cross the road. Secondly, I feel like it is only fare for drivers, I do not put them in any unnecessary danger by recklessly crossing the road, if I was a driver I would appreciated it if pedestrians thought about the potential harm they could cause to themselves and me if they didn't wait for the green light.
Another example is whenever I am at university using a computer, once I am finished I make sure I turn off the computer, put the chair neatly in place and clear out all my rubbish. That's something I would like to come in to and that's something I like leaving for the next person.
I guess you could call this being considerate. Always putting yourself in the opposite person's position. I guess it is a form of empathy.
These are just very basic examples of how I make my life feel meaningful, it is a very hard feeling to describe but I guess it boils down to being empathetic in every situation, always doing what you would like people to do for you. And in that way you feel constant connection to everyone and everything.
When You Have One Eye on the Goal, You Have Only One Eye on the Path
PS: If you've never seen Monty Python's The Meaning of Life make sure you do (recommended viewing state: high)
