Aug 4, 2008

Keeping the Horribles at Bay: Making Meaning Out of Nothing

Madrid is in the grips of a heatwave and I am so hot I can't be bothered to move. Lethargy, worry, stress and general dissatisfaction lay heavy on my body. I'm sleeping a lot. Maisel would say that I am having a meaning crisis and I need to look for ways to plug up my meaning leak. Instead I want to cry in self-pity over the meaninglessness of my life. What's the point? It's all drudgery and I don't see the need to go on. I'm exhausted and joyless and hopeless, tossed about at the mercy of external forces outside my control.. (economic crisis = still unemployed)

Well, it's time again to keep the horribles at bay. Time to take responsibility for what I can do. Time to navigate. I am the meaning maker in my life and I favor the metaphor of life as a story. So then, if I am the hero of my story/quest then I must act in the face of obstacles. Take action. The right action in the moment. But what is right action? Whatever I decide is the right thing to do. How do I decide? Intuition tempered with common sense. Action brings with it energy and the feeling of accomplishment. The only thing to do now is make a list and follow through. This may not get me work in August (when all of Spain is on vacation) but it'll make me feel better and that's meaning enough for me.

I recommend:
Podcasts by Dr. Eric Maisel called Your Purpose-Centered Life. He is a staunch atheist and he deals with making meaning in a meaningless universe.
His first series, "art of making meaning" he describes the atheist's way or in a nutshell: life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself.
In his second series, "How Purpose Heals Depression," he discusses existential concerns and ways to heal.

0 comments:

Related Posts with Thumbnails