journey of lifetime meaning

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Of A Lifetime

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Of a Lifetime Lyrics as written by Gregg Rolie George Tyndall Tickner

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group

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BEST. JOURNEY. SONG. EVER. This song is sooooo underrated. With Gregg Rolie's keyboard playing and Neal Schon's jazzy rock style guitar with long solos and melodic riffs, and finally the overall space-rock feel of the song, it is truly an unknown masterpiece. It leaves me breathless and I feel as if I live a whole lifetime through it every time I hear it......I think ill go listen to it now....(:

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couldn't have put it better myself. Truly Journey's masterpiece - and the first song on their first album too. The solos at the end are mesmerising. Nothing comes close to this. Feels like I'm on a ride through the constellations whenever I hear it. Classic.

What a beautiful spellbinding song......

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And the lyrics a wrong. It's not "singing more of a lifetime" it just "singing of a lifetime". Please fix this!!!!!:)

Please correct the lyrics Dude!

I bought this debut LP in 1975. I was 21 could not quit listening to this song. So great probably Greg Rollie's best vocals and keys ever & Schon are the guitar up. Why is this song and LP so completely ignored for 47 years?! I can't get enough of it! I thought when Steve Perry was added in 77 or 78 and they had both Rollie and Perry on vocals they were great. You know Rollie was the vocalist in Santana's 'Black Magic Woman'. Wow! And Schon played guitar in Santana at age 17! Imo Cain can't/couldn't hold a candle to Rollie!.Cain is a very good songwriter tho. Steve Smith was not drummer #Aynsley Dunbar. There is a live version of this in YouTube from Osaka with Steve Smith drums pre Steve Perry. Filmed in 1980. It's even better than LP version! I highly recommend checking it out.

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51 Meaningful Quotes About How Life is a Journey

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They say that life is about the journey and not the destination. But what does that really mean?

You’ve probably heard this line a million times before, but maybe you couldn’t quite understand what it was trying to illustrate.

The most successful people will tell you that the process of accomplishing something is far more valuable than the end result. You learn much more from all of your experiences and encounters than you do from arriving at the destination.

Ultimately, the process is the greatest reward. The sweetest moments come when you realize that you have attained the final goal because of everything you have experienced.

You look back on the mistakes, the challenges, and everything you had to endure—but you also celebrate the fact that you faced your problems head-on. Your journey through life is what makes you human.

In this article, we share with you a list of quotes about how life is a journey . We hope that, through these words, you’ll be able to enjoy everything that life has to offer. Even more so, we hope that they will inspire you to live a more meaningful and happier life .

But before we check out our list, let’s discuss how reading these quotes can get you motivated.

Table of Contents

Why Read Quotes About How Life Is a Journey?

Reading these quotes can inspire you to live a better and more fulfilling life.

They are, after all, from people who have found their journeys through life enjoyable and gratifying. There’s no better way to motivate yourself than to get inspiration from people who have already lived wonderful lives.

In the same vein, these quotes can help you appreciate the gift of life. They help you realize that you only live once, so you must relish the moments you have been given.

Finally, reading these quotes can encourage you to share your life with others. You will realize that, in order to be able to live your life to the fullest, you need someone to share both your joys and sorrows with. You require companions to fully live in the moment .

Now that you know why it’s important to read journey quotes, let us check out our list!

Meaningful Life is a Journey Quotes

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But by all means, keep moving.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Tony Robbins
“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” – Heraclitus
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.” – Walt Whitman
“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.” – Norton Juster
“The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” – Steve Maraboli

“Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.” – Erol Ozan
“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” – Michelle Obama
“I am no longer afraid of becoming lost because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.” – Billy Joel
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy
“Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering.” – Santosh Kalwar
“There is a strange comfort in knowing that no matter what happens today, the Sun will rise again tomorrow.” – Aaron Lauritsen
“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – Drake
“ Transformation is a process , and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery – there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair.” – Rick Warren
“The journey is never-ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, and adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.” – Antonio Brown
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson
“On your journey, don’t forget to smell the flowers. Take time out to notice that you are alive. You can only live one day.” – Ray Fearon

“If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends. It simply means the river bends.” – Enoch Powell
“It’s not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place because it frees you.” – Tyler Perry
“Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete.” – Chanda Kochhar
“Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin
“Your journey never ends. Life has a way of changing things in incredible ways.” – Alexander Volkov
“Each one of us has our own evolution of life, and each one of us goes through different tests which are unique and challenging. But certain things are common. And we do learn things from each other's experiences. On a spiritual journey, we all have the same destination.” – A. R. Rahman
“Going by my past journey, I am not certain where life will take me, what turns and twists will happen; nobody knows where they will end up. As life changes direction, I'll flow with it.” – Katrina Kaif
“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci | end of journey quotes | everyday is a journey quotes

“But it's a journey and the sad thing is you only learn from experience, so as much as someone can tell you things, you have to go out there and make your own mistakes in order to learn.” – Emma Watson
“The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs.” – Wally Lamb
“Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.” – Oliver Goldsmith
“The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it's here is up to us. Journey wisely.” – Alexandra Elle
“We may run, walk, stumble. drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.” – Gloria Gaither
“Whole life is a search for beauty. But, when the beauty is found inside, the search ends and a beautiful journey begins.” – Harshit Walia
“Not everyone will understand your journey. That's okay. You're here to live your life, not to make everyone understand .” – Banksy
“I believe that life is a journey, often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are well equipped for it if only we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them to blossom.” – Les Brown
“It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination.” – John Bingham
“As you journey down the path, don't forget to be present moment-by-moment and absorb the beauty and richness of simply being alive.” – Cary David Richards
“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” – Dan Rather

“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” – Dan Rather | trust the journey quotes | travel journey quotes

“Life is a journey of either Fate or Destiny. Fate is the result of giving in to one's wounds and heartaches. Your Destiny unfolds when you rise above the challenges of your life and use them as Divine opportunities to move forward to unlock your higher potential.” – Caroline Myss
“I know it can be tough to imagine how to get from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow. But I’m here to tell you that change is possible if you enter into this journey with your eyes wide open, and with real intention.” – David Hauser
“Part of the challenge that comes with striving for success is how the entire journey comes with its own fair share of failures and disappointments.” – Rupert Johnson
“The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That's all there ever is.” – Alan Watts
“Life is a journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are.” – Kelly McGillis
“Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.” – Captain Jean-Luc Picard
“I just constantly tell myself that I should be the only one to define my worth and what I'm capable of and how I perceive myself. And that I should never source that worth from other people, especially strangers on social media. They don't know who I am, the length of my journey, who I am as a person.” – Catriona Gray
“ You have learned a lot, but there are still lots of learning for you as you journey through life. Never stop learning.” – Kate Summers

“One of the most important things that I have learned in my 57 years is that life is all about choices. On every journey you take, you face choices. At every fork in the road, you make a choice. And it is those decisions that shape our lives.” – Mike DeWine
“I'm different than most people. When I cross the finish line of a big race, I see that people are ecstatic, but I'm thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow. It's as if my journey is everlasting, and there is no finish line.” – David Goggins
“The journey matters as much as the destination. By engaging at the moment on set, I've stopped rushing and now find pleasure in the collaborative process – the characters, the costumes – rather than worrying about the finished product.” – Michelle Dockery
“It's a life's journey of finding ourselves, finding our power, and living for yourself, not for everyone else.” – Mariska Hargitay

Final Thoughts on Life & Journey

Life is a journey, and we all take different paths.

There are those who take the road less traveled and enjoy unique accomplishments, while others go with the crowd but still end up loving the lives they’ve chosen as well. Regardless of our choices, we will all have the potential to become successful in the ways we personally define success.

We hope that these quotes inspired you to enjoy your life’s journey and make it more meaningful. Enjoy the moment and live happy!

And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:

63 Inspiring Walt Whitman Quotes About Life
51 Do What Makes You Happy Quotes for 2023
107 Quotes About Overcoming Adversity and Challenges in Your Life

Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success .

quotes about journey and destination | life journey quotes | beautiful journey quotes

Meaning of Of a Lifetime by Journey

In "Of a Lifetime" by Journey, the lyrics delve into themes of introspection, the passage of time, and the importance of embracing one's journey through life. The song opens with a sense of disorientation and the need to reconnect with oneself, as symbolized by the mist slowly lifting and the sound of life misplacing the mind. The narrator urges the listener to remember and cherish what they discover along the way, emphasizing the significance of self-awareness in navigating life's complexities. The chorus, with its mantra of "Singing more of a lifetime," underscores the idea of living in the present moment and fully immersing oneself in the experiences life has to offer. Through its evocative imagery of dreams drifting and waiting to be realized, the song prompts listeners to boldly pursue their aspirations and beliefs, urging them to have faith in their choices and embrace the myriad possibilities that lie ahead. "Of a Lifetime" serves as a poignant reminder to embrace the journey, cherish each moment, and strive towards a life that is rich in purpose and fulfillment.

This meaning interpretation was written by AI. Help improve it with your feedback

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The journey of life, ...and the nature of success.

Posted May 24, 2016

Just what is implied nowadays when we say that someone has led a ‘successful life’? I ask the question in general conversation from time to time and, as might be expected, find that nowadays ideas about what constitutes ‘success’ in life tend to be pretty narrow.

For more often than not, ‘success in life’ is generally taken to be (1), attaining a high degree of financial security; (2) having achieved a good social position; or (3), having acquired a fair number of impressive possessions – all opinions and attitudes which I would say reflect a widely held way of looking at contemporary life.

I remember a distinction made on a Royal Air Force Officer’s Record during World War II between two aspects of his overall performance, using a separate column for each: one headed OQ (Officer Qualities) and the other PQ (Personal Qualities). And it was necessary to have positive reports in both columns in order to maintain rank or be promoted.

I mention this ‘two column’ method here because these two ways of assessing overall competence in war are really also applicable to the struggle for success in normal peacetime living. For the OQ column recorded how intelligently and successfully one has responded to all the practical, day-to-day, ‘action-requiring’ decisions confronting one, indicating firmness of resolve in objective and positive action in responding to external situations of the moment… right now. The PQ column represented the extremely personal, psychological integrity of moral character, and insightful level of ‘wisdomly’ intuition , brought to bear more reflectively when taking action in any situation.

I don’t suppose that many contemporary psychologists would have much trouble in agreeing that the mental partnership of the OQ/PQ formula (as prescribed for wartime conditions), also plays a large part in determining the degree of ‘success’ when it comes to peacetime living.

But there is also one other mental activity at work in consciousness that should be recorded in a third column, one absent from official records, the purpose of which is to reveal those aspects of your own essential nature and character that are responsible for the decisions and the actions you take. For it may be in your nature to be constantly critical, even vindictive…. or generally fair and unprejudiced, generally disposed to be generous in the things you say and do. Judgements of this sort constitute a regular and important side of consciousness, and one should be aware of one’s own tendencies to be either hyper-critical or overly optimistic and generous to others as one goes through the day. Always let that well-known aphorism come to mind, ‘There but for the grace of God go I…’

In any event, the third column’s record indicates important personality characteristics: whether it is in one’s nature to be constantly critical, with a tendency to be condemnatory or more generally optimistic and sympathetic with regard to others. It is important to look over this third column from time to time, for it should be seen as a appraisal of one’s own character, speaking to levels of personal integrity and, as such, revealing just how humane you have become. This may help you determine your essential identity in terms of your humanity.

So I would suggest that success in life lies in coming to be aware of the comments secreted in the three-columned record of your life.

From the civilizations of Greece and Rome has come the injunction, ‘Know Thyself….’ in the belief that to know the content of your personal ‘three-columned record’, in and of itself, constitutes success in life.

(You may also attempt to make a ‘character test’ by trying to recognize the ‘face in the mirror’. Recognize Yourself, that is. Try it sometime. See how long you can manage to look into your own eyes. If you can manage two minutes, it is said you are in good humane shape.)

Dr. Carl Gustav Jung (who I regard as the greatest of 20th Century psychologist-psychiatrists), used the word individuation to describe this ‘three-columned’ mental journey as the course we follow to become unique individuals. And he saw the practice of psychiatry – talking to a patient to bring him or her to reach this very point of ‘Knowing Themselves – as the healing job of the psychologist.

But I am not sure if the following statement would carry much weight nowadays:

We moderns are faced with the necessity of rediscovering the life of the spirit; we must experience it anew for ourselves. It is the only way in which we can break the spell that binds us to the cycle of biological events….

C.G.Jung: Psychological Reflections

Graham Collier , the author of What The Hell Are The Neurons Up To? , is an exhibiting landscape and portrait artist in Britain, an artist-philosopher in America, and a frequent Antarctic voyager.

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Embark on a Journey of Life: Exploring the Pathway’s Prose

In our journey through life, we navigate a complex and ever-changing pathway, encountering diverse experiences, challenges, and moments of joy. It is a journey marked by significant milestones, lessons, and the pursuit of meaning and fulfillment. Along the way, we ponder the meaning of life, seek our purpose, and grapple with the obstacles that come our way. How do we grow and evolve as we encounter these challenges, and where do we find happiness and contentment? These questions shape our understanding of the journey of life and the legacy we hope to leave behind.

Join us as we explore the pathways of life, the lessons we learn, and the moments that shape us in our quest for happiness and fulfillment.

Key Takeaways:

Life is a journey filled with different paths, challenges, and lessons.
Finding our purpose and overcoming obstacles are key to achieving fulfillment in life.
By leaving a positive impact and finding joy, we can create a meaningful legacy on our journey of life.

10 Amazing Poems About The Journey of Life

1. pathways unfold.

In life’s journey, a path winds and bends, A story that twists, turns, and extends. Each step, a tale of dreams and fears, Years of laughter, joy, and tears.

We walk in the light, and sometimes in the dark, Marking our trail with an indelible mark. Life’s road with its highs and lows, Shows us where the heart truly goes.

Through forests of doubt and fields of hope, We cope, finding ways to adapt and cope. In every journey, a lesson learned, Earned in the miles we’ve traversed and turned.

Life, a journey of endless scope, In every step, a chance to grow, to cope. A path unique, with stories untold, Bold in its unfolding, a sight to behold.

Did You Know? The longest walking route on Earth is the proposed Transglobal Highway, a network of roads and ferries that would connect most of the continents on Earth. This remarkable journey would span approximately 33,000 kilometers (20,500 miles), offering a unique way to experience diverse cultures and landscapes. More about this epic journey can be explored through the Transglobal Highway project .

2. River of Time

Life flows like a river, steady and true, Through new and old, through the past and new. Its current strong, with moments swift, Adrift in time’s unceasing shift.

In the waters of life, we find our way, Day by day, in the flow and sway. Through calm streams and turbulent tide, We ride, with time as our guide.

Each bend brings a new sight, unseen, A scene of what has been and what will be. In the river of time, we learn to navigate, Celebrate each twist of fate.

Life, a journey on time’s endless stream, A dream, where past and future gleam. In the flow of years, moments shine bright, Light in the river’s dynamic flight.

3. Mountain Ascent

Life’s journey, an ascent of a mountain high, Sky-reaching peaks, under the open sky. Each step, an effort, a climb toward the peak, Seeking the summit, the answers we seek.

The path is steep, rugged, and long, Strong is the heart that sings the mountain’s song. With each rise and fall, with each testing bend, We mend, growing stronger with each ascend.

The view from the top, a sight so grand, A land of dreams, where we understand. In life’s climb, challenges we face, Embrace each step with courage and grace.

The journey of life, a mountain’s tale, A trail of triumphs, where we prevail. In the climb, we find our spirit’s might, In the height of life’s challenging flight.

Did You Know? Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, has been a symbol of life’s challenges and achievements. It stands at a staggering height of 8,848 meters (29,029 feet). The journey to its summit is not just a physical challenge, but also a mental and spiritual one, much like the journey of life. Discover more about Everest and its climbers at the Himalayan Database .

4. Desert Crossing

Across life’s desert, vast and wide, We stride, under the sun’s scorching guide. A land of extremes, of heat and cold, Bold are the stories in this landscape told.

Each grain of sand, a moment in time, Sublime in its simplicity, yet profound and prime. In the desert’s expanse, we find our strength, Length of resilience, measured at length.

The journey through life’s arid ground, Found in the silence, a profound sound. Mirages of hope, oases of dreams, Seems life is more than what it seems.

In the desert of life, we learn to endure, Pure in our quest, our intentions sure. A passage of self, of discovery and test, In the quest of life’s arid, challenging quest.

5. Sea Voyage

Life, a voyage across the vast sea, Free, where the waves dictate where we’ll be. A journey of depths, of storms and calm, A balm of experiences, a healing psalm.

The ocean’s expanse, wide and deep, A leap into the unknown, a giant sweep. In the tides and currents, we find our way, Day by day, in the play of spray.

Navigating life’s high seas, Sees us through joys and heartache’s freeze. In the ebb and flow of time’s tide, We ride, with hope as our guide.

Life’s journey, a sea adventure, wide and vast, A cast of moments, memories that last. In the voyage of life, on the ocean’s crest, We quest, in our search for life’s best.

Did You Know? The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans, reaching a depth of about 10,984 meters (36,037 feet). Exploring this part of the ocean is as challenging as exploring outer space, symbolizing the depths and mysteries of life’s journey. The trench’s deepest point, known as Challenger Deep, can be explored further through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website .

6. Forest Trail

Through the forest of life, a trail winds, Finds its way through the trees, the binds. A journey of shadows and dappled light, A sight of nature’s strength and might.

In the woodland’s embrace, paths diverge, Emerge new routes, as our lives surge. Twists and turns, in the forest deep, Keep us seeking, in life’s game of hide and seek.

Among the trees, we find our peace, Cease the noise, let the quiet increase. In the forest of life, lessons are learned, Earned in the tranquility for which we yearned.

Life, a journey through a forest’s maze, A gaze into nature’s mysterious ways. In the woods, we wander and explore, More of life’s secrets, in its core.

7. Urban Odyssey

In the city of life, an odyssey unfolds, Holds a tale of the new and the old. Skyscrapers of dreams, streets of fate, A state of constant change, at a rapid rate.

The urban jungle, alive and loud, Proud in its diversity, a cosmopolitan crowd. In the hustle and bustle, we find our beat, A feat of survival, in the city’s heat.

Life’s journey through the urban sprawl, A call to adapt, to stand tall. In the maze of streets, lessons to learn, Earn our place, at every turn.

The city of life, a journey of discovery, A story of humanity, in all its glory. In the urban odyssey, we find our way, Day by day, in the city’s lively play.

Did You Know? Tokyo, Japan, is one of the largest and most populous cities in the world, symbolizing the complexity and excitement of urban life. With a population of over 37 million in the greater metropolitan area, Tokyo is a prime example of urban expansion, blending ancient traditions with modern innovations. Explore Tokyo’s unique blend of the old and new at Tokyo’s Official Travel Guide .

8. Country Road

Down life’s country road, a journey so serene, Seen in the rolling hills, the landscape green. A path of simplicity, of quiet and calm, A balm of nature’s soothing palm.

The countryside, with its tranquil charm, A farm of life’s experiences, a place to disarm. In the rhythm of the rural pace, A space to breathe, to embrace grace.

Along the country road, life unwinds, Finds its rhythm in the fields and pines. A journey of peace, of slow and steady, Ready to enjoy the scenic beauty.

Life, a country road, a path less trodden, A cotton of quiet, where worries are forgotten. In the countryside, life’s journey is clear, Near to nature’s heart, close and dear.

9. Stairway to Dreams

Life’s journey, a stairway to our dreams, Seems to rise to infinite schemes. Each step, a climb towards our goal, A role in the play of the soul.

The staircase of life, steep and tall, Calls us to rise, to face it all. With each rise, a new level reached, Teached by the steps life has breached.

The ascent, a challenge of heart and mind, Find our strength, our unique kind. In the climb, dreams come into sight, A light at the top, shining bright.

Life, a stairway of hopes and fears, Years of climbing towards our frontiers. In the journey up life’s stairway, A play of dreams, day by day.

10. Galactic Trek

Life, a galactic trek through space and time, A climb through the cosmos, a journey sublime. In the vastness of the universe, we find our way, A play of stars and galaxies in display.

Through the Milky Way, our life’s path weaves, Believes in the journey of cosmic leaves. Astronauts of existence, in the space we roam, Home in the infinite, where stars foam.

The journey of life, a voyage so grand, A band of experiences, in the cosmic land. In the galaxy of existence, we explore, More of life’s mysteries, in its core.

Life’s trek through the stars, a celestial quest, A test of our spirit, in the cosmic zest. In the galactic journey of life, we sail, A tale of adventure, on an epic scale.

What Is the Journey of Life?

The journey of life is a remarkable odyssey filled with diverse experiences, profound emotions, and the pursuit of self-discovery and growth. It is an adventure that encompasses the myriad paths we tread, the love we encounter, and the reflections that shape our perspectives.

Every step taken, every challenge overcome, adds a unique hue to the canvas of our existence, creating a masterpiece like no other. As time unfolds, we navigate through the ebbs and flows, tasting the sweetness of triumph and feeling the sting of loss. Love , whether tender or tumultuous, adds splendor to this journey, infusing our hearts with a kaleidoscope of emotions, teaching us the depths of vulnerability and the heights of joy.

Self-discovery unfolds like the blooming of a flower, revealing layers of our being we never knew existed. It is a profound exploration, echoing whispers of growth and resilience as we confront our fears and embrace our strengths. Each twist and turn is an opportunity to learn, awaken, and evolve, painting our lives with hues of wisdom and understanding.

What Are the Different Paths We Take in Life?

Life presents a multitude of paths, each adorned with unique experiences, challenges, and opportunities for growth. These paths are akin to verses in a poem, weaving together our experiences and perspectives into a tapestry of existence.

Some paths lead through verdant meadows, where the soft petals of opportunity glisten with the morning dew, while others navigate the rugged terrain of adversity, sculpting resilience from every rock and thorn. Each footfall, a syllable in the grand composition of life’s journey, carries the rhythm of our stories.

From the bustling city streets to the tranquil whispers of nature’s embrace, the diverse landscapes we traverse mirror the intricacies of our own inner landscapes, shaping our perceptions and aspirations. As we thread through the ebbs and flows, our paths intertwine, forming the interconnected verses of human existence, each imbued with the poetic essence of our shared humanity.

What Is the Meaning of Life?

The meaning of life resides in the profound exploration of purpose , the relentless pursuit of self-discovery , and the ceaseless quest for inspiration and lessons that enrich our existence. It is a tapestry woven from the threads of love, growth, and the enigmatic dance of success and failure.

Life’s complexities unfold as we navigate through the ebb and flow of experiences, each moment a brushstroke painting the canvas of our journey. Through introspection, we unravel purpose’s elusive tendrils, seeking to grasp its essence amidst the tumultuous winds of uncertainty. In the pursuit of self-discovery, we embark on an odyssey, looking into the depths of our being, uncovering hidden facets that shape our understanding of existence. These revelations spur inspiration, nurturing the germination of possibilities and expansiveness in our perception of the world. From each adversity, we glean profound lessons, forging resilience and the temerity to embrace change. Life’s enigmatic harmony emanates from this intertwining tapestry of experiences, weaving a mosaic of growth and enlightenment.

How Do We Find Our Purpose in Life?

Discovering our purpose in life entails navigating through the labyrinth of challenges, embracing the winds of change, and seeking inspiration from the wisdom of Rumi. It is a journey of self-discovery and growth, a dance with the unknown to unravel the purpose that ignites our souls.

In the pursuit of purpose, we are called to explore the depths of our being, to venture into the uncharted territories of our hearts. Through the chaos and tranquility, we find that every challenge is a stepping stone, every setback a lesson, and every joy a reminder of our inner calling. Rumi’s words resonate, guiding us to look inward, to connect with our essence , and to embrace the journey, knowing that the answers lie within.

What Are the Challenges We Face in Life?

Life presents an array of challenges, each akin to a mountain waiting to be conquered or a river to be crossed . These obstacles are the crucibles in which our growth is forged, and the mirrors that reflect the kaleidoscope of our emotions and reflections.

As we navigate through these intricate labyrinths, we find ourselves confronting the depths of our fears and the heights of our aspirations. The journey molds us, chiseling away the rough edges of our character, imbuing us with resilience and wisdom.

How Do We Overcome Obstacles in Our Journey?

Overcoming the obstacles that punctuate our journey requires unwavering perseverance , akin to summiting the formidable peaks of Mount Everest. It is a testament to the human spirit’s resilience and the relentless pursuit of success amidst the labyrinth of challenges.

Embracing the mindset of a valiant mountaineer, one must cultivate grit to navigate the treacherous terrain, and a steadfast determination to conquer the insurmountable. Fear must be confronted, for it is often the shadow that looms large, obscuring the path ahead.

The summit of Mount Everest beckons each individual to redefine their limits – pushing beyond what was previously thought attainable, and embracing the fortitude necessary to withstand the howling winds of adversity.

What Are the Lessons We Learn Along the Way?

The journey of life bestows upon us a trove of invaluable lessons , each intricately woven into the fabric of our growth and transformation. These lessons serve as beacons of inspiration, illuminating our path through the labyrinth of challenges and triumphs.

Through the ebb and flow of life’s tapestry, we come to understand that lessons are not confined to classrooms or books but are an integral part of our daily experiences, shaping us in profound ways. The wisdom gained from overcoming adversities and celebrating victories etches a profound resilience within us, enableing us to endure and thrive.

As we reflect on the invaluable lessons imprinted on our souls, we recognize how they have sculpted our character, fostering empathy, wisdom, and gratitude.

How Do We Grow and Evolve on Our Journey?

The journey of life is a crucible for growth and evolution , akin to the transformative odyssey portrayed by Dante Alighieri. It is a symphony of self-discovery, a kaleidoscope of lessons, and a tapestry woven from the diverse perspectives that shape our existence.

In the labyrinth of our experiences, we encounter the challenges that shape our character and propel us toward growth. As we traverse through the circles of our personal inferno and face the shadows of our own making, we deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world.

Each trial and triumph serves as a crucible in which our resilience and resolve are forged, refining our spirit as we ascend towards enlightenment.

From the depths of our abyss , we emerge stronger, enlightened by the wisdom gained from our encounters with the divine and the mundane .

What Are the Milestones in Our Journey of Life?

The journey of life is adorned with an array of milestones , each marking the culmination of profound experiences, exponential growth, and introspective reflections. These milestones are the tapestries that adorn the grand narrative of our existence, signifying the evolution and transformation we undergo.

As we traverse the expansive terrain of existence, these milestones stand as the emblems of perseverance and accomplishment, testifying to our resilience and fortitude. They serve as beacons of progress, guiding us through the labyrinth of challenges and triumphs.

Each milestone etches a story into the fabric of time, capturing the moments of triumph, perseverance, and self-discovery.

What Are the Significant Moments That Shape Us?

Life’s journey is punctuated by significant moments, akin to the poignant verses of Morri Life , which etch themselves into the tapestry of our emotions and the saga of love. These moments become the crucibles that shape our essence, imbuing our journey with depth and meaning.

It is within these moments that we find ourselves facing the intricate dance of joy and sorrow, hope and despair, serenity and chaos. Just as Morri Life encapsulates the raw emotions of the human experience, so too do these impactful moments ripple through our souls, leaving an indelible mark. They are the crescendos and diminuendos in the symphony of our lives, resonating with the essence of love and growth.

How Do We Find Happiness and Fulfillment on Our Journey?

The pursuit of happiness and fulfillment on life’s journey is akin to a lyrical dance of love , self-discovery, and the perpetual quest for inspiration. It is an odyssey that resonates with the echoes of joy, the tapestries of love, and the kaleidoscope of self-discovery that imbue our existence with meaning.

Every step in this dance is adorned with the intricate patterns of emotions, each movement revealing the depths of our desires and dreams. The rhythm of love intertwines with the melody of self-discovery, creating a harmonious symphony that guides us through the labyrinth of experiences.

Through this captivating choreography, we unravel the layers of our soul, embracing our vulnerabilities, and finding strength in our inspiration to pursue the uncharted paths of our aspirations.

What Brings Us Joy and Contentment in Life?

The tapestries of joy and contentment in life are akin to the resonating verses of Margaret Fishback Powers, weaving together the essence of love, diverse perspectives , and the kaleidoscope of happiness . They form the lyrical symphony that enriches our journey with meaning and purpose.

Just as a tapestry is formed by weaving together myriad threads, joy and contentment in life stem from the intertwining of love, acceptance , and gratitude . Each thread represents a unique experience, a diverse perspective that adds depth and richness to the fabric of our existence.

The tapestries of joy are not uniform; rather, they are a patchwork of moments, emotions, and connections that create a beautiful mosaic. It is through embracing the variety of experiences and perspectives that we can truly appreciate the intricate beauty of our own unique tapestries of joy.

What Is the Legacy We Leave Behind on Our Journey?

The legacy we leave behind on life’s journey is an indelible imprint of our impact, a testament to our growth, and a reflection of our profound self-discovery. It is a tapestry woven from the threads of inspiration, the echoes of love, and the transformative essence of our existence.

Every action, every word spoken, every choice made contributes to this tapestry of legacy . Our impact ripples through the lives we touch, shaping the world in both subtle and grand ways. As we traverse through the labyrinth of life, our legacy becomes a roadmap for those who walk in our footsteps, guiding them to navigate their own journey with wisdom and empathy.

It is the echo of our voice, the warmth of our embrace, and the wisdom of our experiences that linger, becoming a source of inspiration for generations to come.

How Do We Make a Positive Impact on Others?

Making a positive impact on others during life’s journey is akin to crafting a symphony of inspiration and resilience, echoing the narratives of Vidya. It is a testament to our ability to transcend challenges, inspire others, and weave a tapestry of hope and compassion within the grand narrative of existence.

When we draw inspiration from the narratives of Vidya, we tap into the profound wellspring of compassion that underpins her remarkable story. Like Vidya, each step we take in the pursuit of spreading positivity and resilience contributes to the sublime harmony of human existence.

The ripples of our actions, no matter how small, resonate with the indomitable spirit that Vidya embodies, enriching the collective symphony of human experience. Through empathy and supportive gestures, we can uplift others amidst their struggles, manifesting inspiration and fortitude in everyday interactions.

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Why Do We Say, ‘Life Is a Journey Not a Destination’?

No one else will live the same life as you because there is no one like you. Therefore, we say “life is a journey, not a destination” because it reminds us that life is an ongoing journey of learning and growing.

A common saying spoken is “life is a journey, not a destination.” This is a very popular phrase that is used across the world. If a person hears this saying often or it becomes overused, it can lose its effect.

The phrase “life is a journey, not a destination” is meant to be impactful and encouraging, but why do we say this phrase?

The Journey of Life

The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, is credited with the phrase “life is a journey, not a destination.” These words are true because life is a journey, not a destination. Life is an ongoing journey. A destination is a place you arrive at or an endpoint.

Life has no arrival or final destination. Life is an ongoing journey and adventure. Throughout our lives, we are going to be constantly traveling, maturing in our faith, and growing older.

When we are living our daily lives, it is important that we step back from the hectic rush of life and truly enjoy the journey. Our journeys in our lives help us grow into the people we become.

In our Christian walks, we need to be striving to include Jesus in every aspect of our journeys of life. The Bible tells us we are only pilgrims on this earth. C. S. Lewis often spoke about how we as humans are only pilgrims passing through on our way to be with the Lord.

Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our lives are our journeys, yet our final destination is heaven.

During our earthly lives, we will never land at our final destination. As long as we have breath in our lungs, God still has a purpose for our lives.

God is constantly telling individuals throughout the Bible to “go” ( Matthew 28:18-20 ; Genesis 12:1 ). Throughout our lives, God wants us to keep going and to share the gospel with others as well as to disciple them and help them grow in their faith.

The Christian faith is truly a journey, and it is a hard one. Many individuals believe after one becomes a Christian that their life will automatically be made all better.

While life does get better after becoming a Christian because you know Christ, it does not automatically fix all of your problems.

In other words, the Christian life is a hard journey filled with many ups and downs. John Bunyan’s novel The Pilgrim’s Progress does a fantastic job of illustrating the journey of life for a Christian.

The journey of life becomes extremely difficult at times, but God walks with us through every step ( Psalm 23 ). In our own pilgrimages, we need to lean on God and trust Him.

He truly does know what is best and we can fully trust Him. We have nothing to be afraid of because God loves us, and He will direct every step of our life if we allow Him ( Proverbs 3:5-6 ).

The Final Destination

The final destination of our lives lies in our own hands. Our eternal fate lies before us. It is up to us whether we decide to accept Jesus or not.

Throughout our lives, it does not matter how many “good deeds” we do if we do not know Christ. Our goodwill never outweighs our bad. Paul tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ( Romans 3:23 ).

As human beings, we need to carefully examine ourselves and see if we have placed faith in Christ. We can have amazing lives by our own standards, but if we don’t know Christ and we never lived for Him, our lives would not be pleasing to the Lord.

The world tries to tell us that our final destination is our job, finding the right spouse, or buying a huge house, but that’s not true.

This way of thinking causes individuals to have an incorrect view of life as they will always be striving for their “final destination” rather than living the journey of their life for Christ.

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It is a dangerous business to live our lives for ourselves and neglect Jesus’ influence in our lives. As Christians, it is important to know that our final destination is with Christ in heaven, but the journey of life is just as important.

The journey of our lives is beautiful and if we live our lives for Jesus, we will have the most joy in the Lord and we will make a difference for His Kingdom.

Why Do We Say It?

We say “life is a journey, not a destination” because life is the journey and through life, we learn and grow into the people we become. This phrase can also be used to tell loved ones when they are going through a difficult time in their lives.

We need to remember that our lives are a journey and there will be highs and lows. There will be sunny days full of happiness and there will be days of rainstorms and pain.

The beautiful thing about life’s journey is that it is ongoing, and we are constantly learning and growing with every breath we take — through the smiles and the tears.

As we grow older, we can reflect on the past and see just how far we have come in our journey, and look ahead to our continued journey of life. The journey of life continues until we are in the presence of the Lord.

God has created each of us uniquely with a unique purpose for our lives. Throughout our lives’ journey, He is going to have us complete His purpose for our lives. Even when our journey gets hard, we don’t need to give up.

Instead, we need to keep traveling through our pilgrimage ( 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 ). In your own personal life journey, stay focused on Christ and keep your eyes fixed on Him. The Bible tells us,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross , scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God ( Hebrews 12:1-2 ).

Jesus knows life gets arduous, which is why He wants us to come to Him ( Matthew 11:28-30 ). Turn to God today, trust Him, and rely on Him in your daily pilgrimage.

Life is a beautiful journey, and we need to take in every second of it. Our time with our loved ones is precious and every second matters.

It is easy to take life for granted until it slips out of our reach, or we are faced with a terminal illness. In your own life, serve God through the journey and He will lead you exactly where He needs you to be and what He wants you to do. Your life is beautiful and unique.

For further reading:

What Is the Meaning of Life?

The Non-Linear Christian Life

Is it Biblical ‘Where God Guides, He Provides’?

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Ben Taylor

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15 Ways to Find Your Purpose of Life & Realize Your Meaning

“ You don’t find meaning; you create it ,” was my answer to the question, what is meaning?

Drawn in by the unforgiving directness of the existentialist philosophers, I was (perhaps naively) attempting to respond to the question that Albert Camus said must be answered before all others: Is there meaning in life ? Or, to state it more clearly: Is a life worth living? (Camus, 1975).

This article explores a few of the questions central to the vast and complex topic of meaning and purpose in life and introduces techniques and tools to help clients find answers.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Meaning and Valued Living Exercises for free . These creative, science-based exercises will help you learn more about your values, motivations, and goals and will give you the tools to inspire a sense of meaning in the lives of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is the purpose of life a philosophical and psychological take, how to find the purpose of your life, 10 techniques to help yourself and others, 4 useful worksheets, a note on finding meaning after trauma, divorce, and others, positivepsychology.com’s resources, a take-home message.

In The Myth of Sisyphus , Albert Camus (1975), when faced with what he saw as the meaninglessness of existence, suggested we live life to its fullest rather than attempt an escape.

For Camus, as with his contemporary Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialism concerns itself with the uniqueness of the human condition (Sartre, 1964). According to the existentialist formula, life has no inherent meaning. We have free choice and, therefore, choose our values and purpose.

But where did existentialism come from?

The sense of freedom that existentialism offers is crucial – jolting us out of a comfortable malaise. It builds on Friedrich Nietzsche’s thinking that there are no universal facts and that man is isolated. He is born, lives, and dies – alone (Nietzsche, 1911; Kaufmann, 1976).

Rather than dictating how the reader should live, Nietzsche tells us we should create our values and our sense of purpose.

And yet, if cast free, how do we create meaning and purpose?

Existentialism is indebted to Edmund Husserl’s work on perception to answer this and other questions. Writing in 1900, Husserl regards meaning, along with perception, as the creation of the individual. Meaning is not objective – to be found in the external world – but built up from our mental states (Warnock, 1970).

Martin Heidegger – often described as the first true existentialist – picks up on this idea in the heavy-weight Being and Time , written in 1927. For us to be authentic – following a state of anxiety born out of a realization that we are free – we must take responsibility for our actions, our purpose, and our meaning (Heidegger, 1927/2013).

Existentialism and the struggle for meaning

Sartre continues this line of thinking in Being and Nothingness (1964):

“…every man, without any support or help whatever, is condemned at every instant to invent man.”

Separate from the world, we must realize the horror that we are free to do and create meaning . And yet, to avoid bad faith (or inauthenticity), we must accept that we are responsible not only for ourselves but also for all people.

To the existentialist, our sense of meaning and purpose comes from what we do.

But can science and psychology help us find either? Yes, probably .

Meaning and psychology

Increasingly, psychologists have begun to realize the importance of meaning to our wellbeing and happiness.

Recent research suggests that people with increased meaning are better off – they appear happier, exhibit increased life satisfaction, and report lowered depression (Huo et al., 2019; Ivtzan, Lomas, Hefferon, & Worth, 2016; Steger, 2009).

Nevertheless, meaning is a complex construct that can be approached from multiple angles; for example, cognitively, appraising situations for meaning, and motivationally to pursue worthwhile goals (Eysenck & Keane, 2015; Ryan & Deci, 2018).

While there are many definitions of meaning in psychology, Laura King, a psychologist at the University of Missouri, provides us with the following useful description (Heintzelman & King, 2015):

Meaning in life “may be defined as the extent to which a person experiences his or her life as having purpose, significance, and coherence.”

Whether meaning is derived from thoughtful reflection or only as a byproduct of cognitive processing, it is vital for healthy mental functioning. After all, we only attach importance to an experience and see it as significant if it has meaning. Similarly, a sense of meaning and purpose is crucial to create an environment for pursuing personal goals.

A fascinating study in 2010 took a very different perspective, bringing us closer to our initial, philosophical discussion. The realization that there is only one certainty in life – death – can cause great anxiety for many.

The Terror Management Theory (TMT) suggests that features that remind us of our mortality are likely to heighten fear around death (Routledge & Juhl, 2010). However, TMT also suggests that a life “ imbued with meaning and purpose ” can help stave off such angst.

Philosophically and psychologically, it is clear that meaning is a fundamental component of our human existence.

Meaning refers to how we “ make sense of life and our roles in it ,” while purpose refers to the “ aspirations that motivate our activities ” (Ivtzan et al., 2016).

The terms are sufficiently close to saying that in the absence of either, our life lacks a story. As humans, we need something to strive for and a sense of connectedness between the important moments that make up our existence (Steger, 2009).

Sometimes, seeing the bigger picture or recognizing our place in the broader scheme can bring great insights and even play a role in our experience of meaning in life (Hicks & King, 2007).

Share the following ideas and insights with your clients:

Mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam

In 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to spin the Voyager 1 Space Probe around to take one last look at Earth as the probe left the solar system. The picture it took was unlike any other before or since. Roughly 3.7 billion miles away and traveling at 40,000 miles per hour, it captured Earth as a small pale blue dot against a band of sunlight.

The image either leaves you with a sense of deep horror at our insignificance in a vast, uncaring universe or a sense of wonder at how we came into being in such a “ vast cosmic arena .”

This realization is captured beautifully in Carl Sagan’s words and this stunning computer simulation.

Broadening the mind

Alternate points of view that broaden the mind may help an individual experience an increased sense of meaning in life (Hicks & King, 2007). With that in mind, work with your client to widen their outlook and experience others’ thoughts to challenge what they know and think.

Ask your client to:

Read widely . Explore new ideas and beliefs that reach beyond your comfort zone.
Widen your group of friends and contacts . Seek out those who have unique ways of looking at things – positive people who will encourage you to grow.
Learn the methods of evidence-led, scientific thinking . Rational thinking can provide the opportunity to free yourself from biased judgments.

Finding meaning through growth

Adopting a growth mindset can also lead to increased purpose in life. Help your client move away from a fixed mindset and open up to finding new purpose through exploration and challenge (Lee, Hwang, & Jang, 2018; Smith, 2018).

Work with your client to:

Find and build on their strengths . Try out some free online questionnaires such as the Values in Action Inventory or the CliftonStrengths Assessment . Once identified, see how they can use their strengths more regularly in daily life.
Explore weaknesses . If they aren’t holding the client back, help them to accept their weaknesses. If weaknesses prevent the client from living the life they wish to lead, try out techniques to build resilience and adopt a growth mindset .
Help the client understand that the meaning they give to life is subjective and just as valid as anyone else’s.
Accept that mistakes are part of learning.
Encourage them to find ways to motivate themselves by building on intrinsic factors such as tasks that they feel related to, autonomous in, and can grow in competence (Ryan & Deci, 2018). After all, meaning is fundamental to motivation (Heintzelman, 2018).
Help others . Work for charities or provide support where needed.
Studies have shown that fostering a sense of awe, gratitude, and altruism can help strengthen a sense of purpose.
Ask the client to listen to the positive things people have to say about them.
Writing or reading about personal experiences can help develop a shared understanding of meaning. Not only does it build a sense of who we are, but it also makes sense of our experiences.

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The sources of meaning and a sense of purpose in our lives are highly personal, subjective, and will vary throughout our lives.

Promotion of happiness themes

The following activities and techniques can promote key themes in our lives as sources of meaning (Ivtzan at al., 2016):

Support others (and receive others’ support) by joining clubs – strengthening bonds and building relationships .
Share feelings, desires, hopes, goals, successes, and failures with a close friend or significant other to increase intimacy .
Focus outside yourself on causes, pursuits, and responsibilities to self-transcend .
Pursue goals and strive for achievement in areas aligned with your values.
Become comfortable in who you are. Feel the satisfaction of meaning by practicing self-acceptance .
Express and experience respect and fairness .
Obtaining materialistic desires can be significant and meaningful for some.
Working towards professional goals can be purposeful for many.
Pursuit of pleasure and happiness brings meaning and purpose to many but can be short lived.

Reflect on your sources of meaning

Having shared the above list with your client, ask them to:

Rank on a sheet of paper their personal sources of meaning (italics above).
Review which ones are central and most influential.
Reflect on the opportunities to strengthen the ones that rank less highly.

The following tools and techniques are taken from our Positive Psychology Toolkit© and can support your work with clients in their search for purpose and meaning. The exercises are briefly explained, and can be access with a subscription to the Toolkit, which contains over 400 useful tools.

Living a meaningful life can be facilitated by a greater awareness of core values and the thoughts behind them. The insights provided by understanding personal values can help regain a sense of meaning to improve motivation.

Values represent what we consider essential and what we live for in life. They combine both the core psychological needs of the self and society’s norms.

Work with your client to identify what is most valuable to them before they commit to action; for example, being creative, learning, or showing compassion to others.

The Value Cards group exercise provides 42 values (plus some blanks) that can be cut out to form a deck of cards.

Ask each person in the group to:

Lay the value cards out in front of you.
Study and reflect on each one.
Identify the five cards that best represent your core values.
If comfortable, share your core values with others in the group to see what each person has chosen.
Once completed, select the card that represents your strongest value.
Explain to another person in the group why it is your strongest value and offer examples (enjoy this celebration of successes).
Select another value that you would like to live into more and discuss with another person in the group.
Select and share your core value with the group.

Life domains

Some values are specific to life domains. For example, productivity may be more suited to our professional life and compassion in our home life; as our domains change throughout our lives, so too can our values.

A Values Vision Board can provide an excellent visual means for clients to become more aware and connect to their values.

Create a vision board, using pictures cut from magazines and stuck to paper or software such as Powerpoint or Keynote.
Try grouping the images by domain or in order of overall life values.
Work on it through feeling rather than rational thinking, with no goals in mind.
Share your thoughts about the vision board with the therapist or a close friend.
Place the vision board somewhere it can be seen daily. Regularly return to the board to see if values have shifted and whether life is still balanced with the core values.

Emotion and goal-driven behavior

Despite the importance of our values, they can easily be ignored or even avoided.

Powerful emotions often overtake our values in directing our behavior. We fear writing the book we have always wanted or doubt our ability to commit to a relationship.

While goals can be vital to meeting our long-term plans, they can cause us to lose sight of what is important. We may be so focused on finding a partner, owning a house, or starting a family that we lose sight of enjoying life and building a group of friends.

The Values-Based Goal Setting exercise can help translate values into committed action.

Ask the client to:

Choose a life domain, for example, parenting, relationship, work, etc.
Think about what you would like to change in that domain.
Consider why it is essential to make that change.
Write down beside each reason what value it underpins, for example, work/life balance, love, etc.
Use the SMART acronym (specific, meaningful, adaptive, realistic, time-framed) to translate these values into concrete goals.
Review regularly to confirm that these are your goals (not someone else’s) and that your core values remain unchanged.

Shifting and replacing values

Near-death experiences are frequently associated with a re-assessment of a person’s values, including increased concern for others, an appreciation for life, and a decrease in materialism.

Considering our mortality (while challenging) can improve our awareness of what is genuinely important.

The My Gravestone exercise is a powerful tool for reevaluating how we spend our time on Earth. If appropriate to the client’s circumstances, ask your client to:

Imagine their life is over.
Using the shape of a tombstone, write out their name, birth date, etc.
Write a couple of sentences or phrases that capture how they would like to be remembered and how they would like to have spent their time.

This is an extremely difficult exercise for many and should only be performed if the client is ready and willing to cope with the emotions that may arise.

A near-death experience, serious illness, separation, or loss of a loved one can all shake our sense of who we are and force us to reevaluate our core values, life purpose, and sense of meaning.

Indeed, research on trauma survivors has observed post-traumatic growth and the capacity to extract meaning from adversity (Routledge & Juhl, 2010).

17 Tools To Encourage Meaningful, Value-Aligned Living

This 17 Meaning & Valued Living Exercises [PDF] pack contains our best exercises for helping others discover their purpose and live more fulfilling, value-aligned lives.

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Our Masterclass on Meaning and Valued Living© provides an intuitive and accessible way to apply positive psychology.

This excellent online program is for therapists, psychologists, counselors, coaches, and practitioners who want to help their clients find meaning and discover their values, connecting them to their ‘why’ so that they can bear the ‘how.’

if you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others discover meaning, this collection contains 17 validated meaning tools for practitioners. Use them to help others choose directions for their lives in alignment with what is truly important to them.

The meaning we attach to our self, the world around us, and our role within it form our narrative. Our purpose – our aim and goals – motivates the activities that take us through it.

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that both meaning and purpose are vital to our wellbeing as well as crucial to who we are.

If we accept the existentialists’ view, then we are free to lead a life according to our values, assign a meaning to what we see as vital, and pursue a unique purpose.

As Sartre points out, this realization may begin with anguish and spiral to a sense of vertiginous nausea before we act. After all, it is like being dropped at a cliff’s edge, without the option of going back and an uncertain future ahead.

Instead, we must choose our values and the meaning we assign to who we are, how we live, and what we do. Our goals are personal, and we must decide whether to follow them or let them drift out of sight.

But failing to act authentically and live according to the meaning and purpose we have chosen would result in a less-well-lived life. So, try the exercises within this article – if only to better understand who you are, your core values, and your place in your surroundings – and explore potential yet to be written.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Meaning and Valued Living Exercises for free .

Camus, A. (1975). The myth of Sisyphus . London: Penguin Books.
Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive psychology: A student’s handbook . New York: Psychology Press.
Heidegger, M. (2013). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). Malden: Blackwell. (Original work published in 1927 and translated in 1962)
Hicks, J. A., & King, L. A. (2007). Meaning in life and seeing the big picture: Positive affect and global focus. Cognition & Emotion , 21 (7), 1577–1584.
Huo, J.-Y., Wang, X.-Q., Steger, M. F., Ge, Y., Wang, Y.-C., Liu, M.-F., & Ye, B.-J. (2019). Implicit meaning in life: The assessment and construct validity of implicit meaning in life and relations with explicit meaning in life and depression. The Journal of Positive Psychology , 15 (4), 500–518.
Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Worth, P. (2016). Second wave positive psychology: Embracing the dark side of life . London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
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Heintzelman, S. J. (2018). Eudaimonia in the contemporary science of subjective well-being: Psychological well-being, self-determination, and meaning in life. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being . Salt Lake City, UT: DEF.
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Warnock, M. (1970). Existentialism . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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We obviously don’t exist in a vacuum so we have a stack of existing phenomena to analyse and interpret. Emanuel Kant said “Two things fill my mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence …. the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.”

Excellent Article. The way ‘ meaning’ and ‘Purpose’ is differentiated is giving clarity to many who get caught in a hazy situation.Purpose is constant and meaning may shift along the journey of life.Purpose is Values driven and Meaning is Actions driven. Enjoyed a lot

Excellent article. I especially liked the differentiation of “meaning” and “purpose” and ways to explore these and become more self-aware. Such poignancy and a great invitation for a deeply meaningful life.

Excellent article. I loved the included YouTube video and funnily enough this is a practice (visualizing myself “zoneing out”- like in the video) I use to ground myself. Refreshing 🙂

The term “existentialism” was given by Catholic existence philosopher Gabriel Marcel to Jean-Paul Sartre’s version of existence philosophy. Nietzsche is not an existentialist, rather, a vitalist. Kierkegaard preceded him and has more existential themes later philosophers like Heidegger built on. “Existentialism” was later associated with Sartre and his followers with “existential phenomenology” being more Heidegger’s suit.

Meaning is objective for Husserl insofar as the laws of logic, morality, and mathematics are independent of the human mind.

Wow, what an insert to capture. I was in a Ministry meeting last night and it was the first one. I listened to several of the ladies say they have no idea of their purpose. So to read this today is a Godsend to share in the next group. This is so profound and just in learning to live.

Thanks for this — especially meaningful at this time of year, in this year. I shared The Blue Dot video to my FB page. But how can we download and share your essay?

Glad you liked the article! Unfortunately, we don’t currently have a download button for our posts, but if you hit ‘Yes’ on the ‘Did you find this article useful?’ button (near the reference list), a range of sharing options will appear. 🙂

– Nicole | Community Manager

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The journey through life

The journey through life is filled with wonder, challenges, broken hearts, extreme highs and lows, celebrations, special moments and memories that define our experience as a human. It is these events, planned or unexpected, that impact our travels and define our purpose.

To follow the right path, and to remain true to ourselves, we overcome these obstacles, sometimes we gain meaning and learning from the challenges and at other times we experience joy.

How we react to what we are faced with determines what the rest of our journey through life will be like. Living the dying experience is akin to the birthing experience and reflects a birth – the birth of new life, new spirit. Our biological birth is no different to our birth into eternity through the gateway of death. Both encompass labour pains and the dying of old and coming of new.

As Ron Rolheiser poignantly observes : ‘Perhaps no image then is as apt, as powerful, as consoling, and as accurate in terms of picturing what happens to us when we die and awake to eternal life as is the image of a mother holding and cradling her newborn child. When we die, we die into the arms of God and surely we’re received with as much love, gentleness, and tenderness as we were received in the arms of our mothers at birth. Moreover, surely we are even safer there than we were when we were born here on earth. I suspect too that more than a few of the saints will be hovering around, wanting their chance to cuddle the new baby. And so it’s okay if we die before we’re ready, still in need of nurturing, still needing someone to help take care of us, still needing a mother. We’re in safe, nurturing, gentle hands.’

Dying well, or what constitutes a ‘good’ death will mean different things to us all. Our understanding is informed by a multitude of influences drawn from our individual journeys through life.

Further information on A Good Death .

Diagnosis of a life-limiting illness

Facing death personally, spiritual questions, support of the church.

Email Address

Contact Living Well Dying Well for more information, additional support or to provide feedback.

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Call us on 13 18 19, 2c west street, lewisham, sydney nsw 2049.

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The Meaning of Life

Many major historical figures in philosophy have provided an answer to the question of what, if anything, makes life meaningful, although they typically have not put it in these terms (with such talk having arisen only in the past 250 years or so, on which see Landau 1997). Consider, for instance, Aristotle on the human function, Aquinas on the beatific vision, and Kant on the highest good. Relatedly, think about Koheleth, the presumed author of the Biblical book Ecclesiastes, describing life as “futility” and akin to “the pursuit of wind,” Nietzsche on nihilism, as well as Schopenhauer when he remarks that whenever we reach a goal we have longed for we discover “how vain and empty it is.” While these concepts have some bearing on happiness and virtue (and their opposites), they are straightforwardly construed (roughly) as accounts of which highly ranked purposes a person ought to realize that would make her life significant (if any would).

Despite the venerable pedigree, it is only since the 1980s or so that a distinct field of the meaning of life has been established in Anglo-American-Australasian philosophy, on which this survey focuses, and it is only in the past 20 years that debate with real depth and intricacy has appeared. Two decades ago analytic reflection on life’s meaning was described as a “backwater” compared to that on well-being or good character, and it was possible to cite nearly all the literature in a given critical discussion of the field (Metz 2002). Neither is true any longer. Anglo-American-Australasian philosophy of life’s meaning has become vibrant, such that there is now way too much literature to be able to cite comprehensively in this survey. To obtain focus, it tends to discuss books, influential essays, and more recent works, and it leaves aside contributions from other philosophical traditions (such as the Continental or African) and from non-philosophical fields (e.g., psychology or literature). This survey’s central aim is to acquaint the reader with current analytic approaches to life’s meaning, sketching major debates and pointing out neglected topics that merit further consideration.

When the topic of the meaning of life comes up, people tend to pose one of three questions: “What are you talking about?”, “What is the meaning of life?”, and “Is life in fact meaningful?”. The literature on life's meaning composed by those working in the analytic tradition (on which this entry focuses) can be usefully organized according to which question it seeks to answer. This survey starts off with recent work that addresses the first, abstract (or “meta”) question regarding the sense of talk of “life’s meaning,” i.e., that aims to clarify what we have in mind when inquiring into the meaning of life (section 1). Afterward, it considers texts that provide answers to the more substantive question about the nature of meaningfulness (sections 2–3). There is in the making a sub-field of applied meaning that parallels applied ethics, in which meaningfulness is considered in the context of particular cases or specific themes. Examples include downshifting (Levy 2005), implementing genetic enhancements (Agar 2013), making achievements (Bradford 2015), getting an education (Schinkel et al. 2015), interacting with research participants (Olson 2016), automating labor (Danaher 2017), and creating children (Ferracioli 2018). In contrast, this survey focuses nearly exclusively on contemporary normative-theoretical approaches to life’s meanining, that is, attempts to capture in a single, general principle all the variegated conditions that could confer meaning on life. Finally, this survey examines fresh arguments for the nihilist view that the conditions necessary for a meaningful life do not obtain for any of us, i.e., that all our lives are meaningless (section 4).

1. The Meaning of “Meaning”

2.1. god-centered views, 2.2. soul-centered views, 3.1. subjectivism, 3.2. objectivism, 3.3. rejecting god and a soul, 4. nihilism, works cited, classic works, collections, books for the general reader, other internet resources, related entries.

One of the field's aims consists of the systematic attempt to identify what people (essentially or characteristically) have in mind when they think about the topic of life’s meaning. For many in the field, terms such as “importance” and “significance” are synonyms of “meaningfulness” and so are insufficiently revealing, but there are those who draw a distinction between meaningfulness and significance (Singer 1996, 112–18; Belliotti 2019, 145–50, 186). There is also debate about how the concept of a meaningless life relates to the ideas of a life that is absurd (Nagel 1970, 1986, 214–23; Feinberg 1980; Belliotti 2019), futile (Trisel 2002), and not worth living (Landau 2017, 12–15; Matheson 2017).

A useful way to begin to get clear about what thinking about life’s meaning involves is to specify the bearer. Which life does the inquirer have in mind? A standard distinction to draw is between the meaning “in” life, where a human person is what can exhibit meaning, and the meaning “of” life in a narrow sense, where the human species as a whole is what can be meaningful or not. There has also been a bit of recent consideration of whether animals or human infants can have meaning in their lives, with most rejecting that possibility (e.g., Wong 2008, 131, 147; Fischer 2019, 1–24), but a handful of others beginning to make a case for it (Purves and Delon 2018; Thomas 2018). Also under-explored is the issue of whether groups, such as a people or an organization, can be bearers of meaning, and, if so, under what conditions.

Most analytic philosophers have been interested in meaning in life, that is, in the meaningfulness that a person’s life could exhibit, with comparatively few these days addressing the meaning of life in the narrow sense. Even those who believe that God is or would be central to life’s meaning have lately addressed how an individual’s life might be meaningful in virtue of God more often than how the human race might be. Although some have argued that the meaningfulness of human life as such merits inquiry to no less a degree (if not more) than the meaning in a life (Seachris 2013; Tartaglia 2015; cf. Trisel 2016), a large majority of the field has instead been interested in whether their lives as individual persons (and the lives of those they care about) are meaningful and how they could become more so.

Focusing on meaning in life, it is quite common to maintain that it is conceptually something good for its own sake or, relatedly, something that provides a basic reason for action (on which see Visak 2017). There are a few who have recently suggested otherwise, maintaining that there can be neutral or even undesirable kinds of meaning in a person’s life (e.g., Mawson 2016, 90, 193; Thomas 2018, 291, 294). However, these are outliers, with most analytic philosophers, and presumably laypeople, instead wanting to know when an individual’s life exhibits a certain kind of final value (or non-instrumental reason for action).

Another claim about which there is substantial consensus is that meaningfulness is not all or nothing and instead comes in degrees, such that some periods of life are more meaningful than others and that some lives as a whole are more meaningful than others. Note that one can coherently hold the view that some people’s lives are less meaningful (or even in a certain sense less “important”) than others, or are even meaningless (unimportant), and still maintain that people have an equal standing from a moral point of view. Consider a consequentialist moral principle according to which each individual counts for one in virtue of having a capacity for a meaningful life, or a Kantian approach according to which all people have a dignity in virtue of their capacity for autonomous decision-making, where meaning is a function of the exercise of this capacity. For both moral outlooks, we could be required to help people with relatively meaningless lives.

Yet another relatively uncontroversial element of the concept of meaningfulness in respect of individual persons is that it is logically distinct from happiness or rightness (emphasized in Wolf 2010, 2016). First, to ask whether someone’s life is meaningful is not one and the same as asking whether her life is pleasant or she is subjectively well off. A life in an experience machine or virtual reality device would surely be a happy one, but very few take it to be a prima facie candidate for meaningfulness (Nozick 1974: 42–45). Indeed, a number would say that one’s life logically could become meaningful precisely by sacrificing one’s well-being, e.g., by helping others at the expense of one’s self-interest. Second, asking whether a person’s existence over time is meaningful is not identical to considering whether she has been morally upright; there are intuitively ways to enhance meaning that have nothing to do with right action or moral virtue, such as making a scientific discovery or becoming an excellent dancer. Now, one might argue that a life would be meaningless if, or even because, it were unhappy or immoral, but that would be to posit a synthetic, substantive relationship between the concepts, far from indicating that speaking of “meaningfulness” is analytically a matter of connoting ideas regarding happiness or rightness. The question of what (if anything) makes a person’s life meaningful is conceptually distinct from the questions of what makes a life happy or moral, although it could turn out that the best answer to the former question appeals to an answer to one of the latter questions.

Supposing, then, that talk of “meaning in life” connotes something good for its own sake that can come in degrees and that is not analytically equivalent to happiness or rightness, what else does it involve? What more can we say about this final value, by definition? Most contemporary analytic philosophers would say that the relevant value is absent from spending time in an experience machine (but see Goetz 2012 for a different view) or living akin to Sisyphus, the mythic figure doomed by the Greek gods to roll a stone up a hill for eternity (famously discussed by Albert Camus and Taylor 1970). In addition, many would say that the relevant value is typified by the classic triad of “the good, the true, and the beautiful” (or would be under certain conditions). These terms are not to be taken literally, but instead are rough catchwords for beneficent relationships (love, collegiality, morality), intellectual reflection (wisdom, education, discoveries), and creativity (particularly the arts, but also potentially things like humor or gardening).

Pressing further, is there something that the values of the good, the true, the beautiful, and any other logically possible sources of meaning involve? There is as yet no consensus in the field. One salient view is that the concept of meaning in life is a cluster or amalgam of overlapping ideas, such as fulfilling higher-order purposes, meriting substantial esteem or admiration, having a noteworthy impact, transcending one’s animal nature, making sense, or exhibiting a compelling life-story (Markus 2003; Thomson 2003; Metz 2013, 24–35; Seachris 2013, 3–4; Mawson 2016). However, there are philosophers who maintain that something much more monistic is true of the concept, so that (nearly) all thought about meaningfulness in a person’s life is essentially about a single property. Suggestions include being devoted to or in awe of qualitatively superior goods (Taylor 1989, 3–24), transcending one’s limits (Levy 2005), or making a contribution (Martela 2016).

Recently there has been something of an “interpretive turn” in the field, one instance of which is the strong view that meaning-talk is logically about whether and how a life is intelligible within a wider frame of reference (Goldman 2018, 116–29; Seachris 2019; Thomas 2019; cf. Repp 2018). According to this approach, inquiring into life’s meaning is nothing other than seeking out sense-making information, perhaps a narrative about life or an explanation of its source and destiny. This analysis has the advantage of promising to unify a wide array of uses of the term “meaning.” However, it has the disadvantages of being unable to capture the intuitions that meaning in life is essentially good for its own sake (Landau 2017, 12–15), that it is not logically contradictory to maintain that an ineffable condition is what confers meaning on life (as per Cooper 2003, 126–42; Bennett-Hunter 2014; Waghorn 2014), and that often human actions themselves (as distinct from an interpretation of them), such as rescuing a child from a burning building, are what bear meaning.

Some thinkers have suggested that a complete analysis of the concept of life’s meaning should include what has been called “anti-matter” (Metz 2002, 805–07, 2013, 63–65, 71–73) or “anti-meaning” (Campbell and Nyholm 2015; Egerstrom 2015), conditions that reduce the meaningfulness of a life. The thought is that meaning is well represented by a bipolar scale, where there is a dimension of not merely positive conditions, but also negative ones. Gratuitous cruelty or destructiveness are prima facie candidates for actions that not merely fail to add meaning, but also subtract from any meaning one’s life might have had.

Despite the ongoing debates about how to analyze the concept of life’s meaning (or articulate the definition of the phrase “meaning in life”), the field remains in a good position to make progress on the other key questions posed above, viz., of what would make a life meaningful and whether any lives are in fact meaningful. A certain amount of common ground is provided by the point that meaningfulness at least involves a gradient final value in a person’s life that is conceptually distinct from happiness and rightness, with exemplars of it potentially being the good, the true, and the beautiful. The rest of this discussion addresses philosophical attempts to capture the nature of this value theoretically and to ascertain whether it exists in at least some of our lives.

2. Supernaturalism

Most analytic philosophers writing on meaning in life have been trying to develop and evaluate theories, i.e., fundamental and general principles, that are meant to capture all the particular ways that a life could obtain meaning. As in moral philosophy, there are recognizable “anti-theorists,” i.e., those who maintain that there is too much pluralism among meaning conditions to be able to unify them in the form of a principle (e.g., Kekes 2000; Hosseini 2015). Arguably, though, the systematic search for unity is too nascent to be able to draw a firm conclusion about whether it is available.

The theories are standardly divided on a metaphysical basis, that is, in terms of which kinds of properties are held to constitute the meaning. Supernaturalist theories are views according to which a spiritual realm is central to meaning in life. Most Western philosophers have conceived of the spiritual in terms of God or a soul as commonly understood in the Abrahamic faiths (but see Mulgan 2015 for discussion of meaning in the context of a God uninterested in us). In contrast, naturalist theories are views that the physical world as known particularly well by the scientific method is central to life’s meaning.

There is logical space for a non-naturalist theory, according to which central to meaning is an abstract property that is neither spiritual nor physical. However, only scant attention has been paid to this possibility in the recent Anglo-American-Australasian literature (Audi 2005).

It is important to note that supernaturalism, a claim that God (or a soul) would confer meaning on a life, is logically distinct from theism, the claim that God (or a soul) exists. Although most who hold supernaturalism also hold theism, one could accept the former without the latter (as Camus more or less did), committing one to the view that life is meaningless or at least lacks substantial meaning. Similarly, while most naturalists are atheists, it is not contradictory to maintain that God exists but has nothing to do with meaning in life or perhaps even detracts from it. Although these combinations of positions are logically possible, some of them might be substantively implausible. The field could benefit from discussion of the comparative attractiveness of various combinations of evaluative claims about what would make life meaningful and metaphysical claims about whether spiritual conditions exist.

Over the past 15 years or so, two different types of supernaturalism have become distinguished on a regular basis (Metz 2019). That is true not only in the literature on life’s meaning, but also in that on the related pro-theism/anti-theism debate, about whether it would be desirable for God or a soul to exist (e.g., Kahane 2011; Kraay 2018; Lougheed 2020). On the one hand, there is extreme supernaturalism, according to which spiritual conditions are necessary for any meaning in life. If neither God nor a soul exists, then, by this view, everyone’s life is meaningless. On the other hand, there is moderate supernaturalism, according to which spiritual conditions are necessary for a great or ultimate meaning in life, although not meaning in life as such. If neither God nor a soul exists, then, by this view, everyone’s life could have some meaning, or even be meaningful, but no one’s life could exhibit the most desirable meaning. For a moderate supernaturalist, God or a soul would substantially enhance meaningfulness or be a major contributory condition for it.

There are a variety of ways that great or ultimate meaning has been described, sometimes quantitatively as “infinite” (Mawson 2016), qualitatively as “deeper” (Swinburne 2016), relationally as “unlimited” (Nozick 1981, 618–19; cf. Waghorn 2014), temporally as “eternal” (Cottingham 2016), and perspectivally as “from the point of view of the universe” (Benatar 2017). There has been no reflection as yet on the crucial question of how these distinctions might bear on each another, for instance, on whether some are more basic than others or some are more valuable than others.

Cross-cutting the extreme/moderate distinction is one between God-centered theories and soul-centered ones. According to the former, some kind of connection with God (understood to be a spiritual person who is all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful and who is the ground of the physical universe) constitutes meaning in life, even if one lacks a soul (construed as an immortal, spiritual substance that contains one’s identity). In contrast, by the latter, having a soul and putting it into a certain state is what makes life meaningful, even if God does not exist. Many supernaturalists of course believe that God and a soul are jointly necessary for a (greatly) meaningful existence. However, the simpler view, that only one of them is necessary, is common, and sometimes arguments proffered for the complex view fail to support it any more than the simpler one.

The most influential God-based account of meaning in life has been the extreme view that one’s existence is significant if and only if one fulfills a purpose God has assigned. The familiar idea is that God has a plan for the universe and that one’s life is meaningful just to the degree that one helps God realize this plan, perhaps in a particular way that God wants one to do so. If a person failed to do what God intends her to do with her life (or if God does not even exist), then, on the current view, her life would be meaningless.

Thinkers differ over what it is about God’s purpose that might make it uniquely able to confer meaning on human lives, but the most influential argument has been that only God’s purpose could be the source of invariant moral rules (Davis 1987, 296, 304–05; Moreland 1987, 124–29; Craig 1994/2013, 161–67) or of objective values more generally (Cottingham 2005, 37–57), where a lack of such would render our lives nonsensical. According to this argument, lower goods such as animal pleasure or desire satisfaction could exist without God, but higher ones pertaining to meaning in life, particularly moral virtue, could not. However, critics point to many non-moral sources of meaning in life (e.g., Kekes 2000; Wolf 2010), with one arguing that a universal moral code is not necessary for meaning in life, even if, say, beneficent actions are (Ellin 1995, 327). In addition, there are a variety of naturalist and non-naturalist accounts of objective morality––and of value more generally––on offer these days, so that it is not clear that it must have a supernatural source in God’s will.

One recurrent objection to the idea that God’s purpose could make life meaningful is that if God had created us with a purpose in mind, then God would have degraded us and thereby undercut the possibility of us obtaining meaning from fulfilling the purpose. The objection harks back to Jean-Paul Sartre, but in the analytic literature it appears that Kurt Baier was the first to articulate it (1957/2000, 118–20; see also Murphy 1982, 14–15; Singer 1996, 29; Kahane 2011; Lougheed 2020, 121–41). Sometimes the concern is the threat of punishment God would make so that we do God’s bidding, while other times it is that the source of meaning would be constrictive and not up to us, and still other times it is that our dignity would be maligned simply by having been created with a certain end in mind (for some replies to such concerns, see Hanfling 1987, 45–46; Cottingham 2005, 37–57; Lougheed 2020, 111–21).

There is a different argument for an extreme God-based view that focuses less on God as purposive and more on God as infinite, unlimited, or ineffable, which Robert Nozick first articulated with care (Nozick 1981, 594–618; see also Bennett-Hunter 2014; Waghorn 2014). The core idea is that for a finite condition to be meaningful, it must obtain its meaning from another condition that has meaning. So, if one’s life is meaningful, it might be so in virtue of being married to a person, who is important. Being finite, the spouse must obtain his or her importance from elsewhere, perhaps from the sort of work he or she does. This work also must obtain its meaning by being related to something else that is meaningful, and so on. A regress on meaningful conditions is present, and the suggestion is that the regress can terminate only in something so all-encompassing that it need not (indeed, cannot) go beyond itself to obtain meaning from anything else. And that is God. The standard objection to this relational rationale is that a finite condition could be meaningful without obtaining its meaning from another meaningful condition. Perhaps it could be meaningful in itself, without being connected to something beyond it, or maybe it could obtain its meaning by being related to something else that is beautiful or otherwise valuable for its own sake but not meaningful (Nozick 1989, 167–68; Thomson 2003, 25–26, 48).

A serious concern for any extreme God-based view is the existence of apparent counterexamples. If we think of the stereotypical lives of Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, and Pablo Picasso, they seem meaningful even if we suppose there is no all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good spiritual person who is the ground of the physical world (e.g., Wielenberg 2005, 31–37, 49–50; Landau 2017). Even religiously inclined philosophers have found this hard to deny these days (Quinn 2000, 58; Audi 2005; Mawson 2016, 5; Williams 2020, 132–34).

Largely for that reason, contemporary supernaturalists have tended to opt for moderation, that is, to maintain that God would greatly enhance the meaning in our lives, even if some meaning would be possible in a world without God. One approach is to invoke the relational argument to show that God is necessary, not for any meaning whatsoever, but rather for an ultimate meaning. “Limited transcendence, the transcending of our limits so as to connect with a wider context of value which itself is limited, does give our lives meaning––but a limited one. We may thirst for more” (Nozick 1981, 618). Another angle is to appeal to playing a role in God’s plan, again to claim, not that it is essential for meaning as such, but rather for “a cosmic significance....intead of a significance very limited in time and space” (Swinburne 2016, 154; see also Quinn 2000; Cottingham 2016, 131). Another rationale is that by fulfilling God’s purpose, we would meaningfully please God, a perfect person, as well as be remembered favorably by God forever (Cottingham 2016, 135; Williams 2020, 21–22, 29, 101, 108). Still another argument is that only with God could the deepest desires of human nature be satisfied (e.g., Goetz 2012; Seachris 2013, 20; Cottingham 2016, 127, 136), even if more surface desires could be satisfied without God.

In reply to such rationales for a moderate supernaturalism, there has been the suggestion that it is precisely by virtue of being alone in the universe that our lives would be particularly significant; otherwise, God’s greatness would overshadow us (Kahane 2014). There has also been the response that, with the opportunity for greater meaning from God would also come that for greater anti-meaning, so that it is not clear that a world with God would offer a net gain in respect of meaning (Metz 2019, 34–35). For example, if pleasing God would greatly enhance meaning in our lives, then presumably displeasing God would greatly reduce it and to a comparable degree. In addition, there are arguments for extreme naturalism (or its “anti-theist” cousin) mentioned below (sub-section 3.3).

Notice that none of the above arguments for supernaturalism appeals to the prospect of eternal life (at least not explicitly). Arguments that do make such an appeal are soul-centered, holding that meaning in life mainly comes from having an immortal, spiritual substance that is contiguous with one’s body when it is alive and that will forever outlive its death. Some think of the afterlife in terms of one’s soul entering a transcendent, spiritual realm (Heaven), while others conceive of one’s soul getting reincarnated into another body on Earth. According to the extreme version, if one has a soul but fails to put it in the right state (or if one lacks a soul altogether), then one’s life is meaningless.

There are three prominent arguments for an extreme soul-based perspective. One argument, made famous by Leo Tolstoy, is the suggestion that for life to be meaningful something must be worth doing, that something is worth doing only if it will make a permanent difference to the world, and that making a permanent difference requires being immortal (see also Hanfling 1987, 22–24; Morris 1992, 26; Craig 1994). Critics most often appeal to counterexamples, suggesting for instance that it is surely worth your time and effort to help prevent people from suffering, even if you and they are mortal. Indeed, some have gone on the offensive and argued that helping people is worth the sacrifice only if and because they are mortal, for otherwise they could invariably be compensated in an afterlife (e.g., Wielenberg 2005, 91–94). Another recent and interesting criticism is that the major motivations for the claim that nothing matters now if one day it will end are incoherent (Greene 2021).

A second argument for the view that life would be meaningless without a soul is that it is necessary for justice to be done, which, in turn, is necessary for a meaningful life. Life seems nonsensical when the wicked flourish and the righteous suffer, at least supposing there is no other world in which these injustices will be rectified, whether by God or a Karmic force. Something like this argument can be found in Ecclesiastes, and it continues to be defended (e.g., Davis 1987; Craig 1994). However, even granting that an afterlife is required for perfectly just outcomes, it is far from obvious that an eternal afterlife is necessary for them, and, then, there is the suggestion that some lives, such as Mandela’s, have been meaningful precisely in virtue of encountering injustice and fighting it.

A third argument for thinking that having a soul is essential for any meaning is that it is required to have the sort of free will without which our lives would be meaningless. Immanuel Kant is known for having maintained that if we were merely physical beings, subjected to the laws of nature like everything else in the material world, then we could not act for moral reasons and hence would be unimportant. More recently, one theologian has eloquently put the point in religious terms: “The moral spirit finds the meaning of life in choice. It finds it in that which proceeds from man and remains with him as his inner essence rather than in the accidents of circumstances turns of external fortune....(W)henever a human being rubs the lamp of his moral conscience, a Spirit does appear. This Spirit is God....It is in the ‘Thou must’ of God and man’s ‘I can’ that the divine image of God in human life is contained” (Swenson 1949/2000, 27–28). Notice that, even if moral norms did not spring from God’s commands, the logic of the argument entails that one’s life could be meaningful, so long as one had the inherent ability to make the morally correct choice in any situation. That, in turn, arguably requires something non-physical about one’s self, so as to be able to overcome whichever physical laws and forces one might confront. The standard objection to this reasoning is to advance a compatibilism about having a determined physical nature and being able to act for moral reasons (e.g., Arpaly 2006; Fischer 2009, 145–77). It is also worth wondering whether, if one had to have a spiritual essence in order to make free choices, it would have to be one that never perished.

Like God-centered theorists, many soul-centered theorists these days advance a moderate view, accepting that some meaning in life would be possible without immortality, but arguing that a much greater meaning would be possible with it. Granting that Einstein, Mandela, and Picasso had somewhat meaningful lives despite not having survived the deaths of their bodies (as per, e.g., Trisel 2004; Wolf 2015, 89–140; Landau 2017), there remains a powerful thought: more is better. If a finite life with the good, the true, and the beautiful has meaning in it to some degree, then surely it would have all the more meaning if it exhibited such higher values––including a relationship with God––for an eternity (Cottingham 2016, 132–35; Mawson 2016, 2019, 52–53; Williams 2020, 112–34; cf. Benatar 2017, 35–63). One objection to this reasoning is that the infinity of meaning that would be possible with a soul would be “too big,” rendering it difficult for the moderate supernaturalist to make sense of the intution that a finite life such as Einstein’s can indeed count as meaningful by comparison (Metz 2019, 30–31; cf. Mawson 2019, 53–54). More common, though, is the objection that an eternal life would include anti-meaning of various kinds, such as boredom and repetition, discussed below in the context of extreme naturalism (sub-section 3.3).

3. Naturalism

Recall that naturalism is the view that a physical life is central to life’s meaning, that even if there is no spiritual realm, a substantially meaningful life is possible. Like supernaturalism, contemporary naturalism admits of two distinguishable variants, moderate and extreme (Metz 2019). The moderate version is that, while a genuinely meaningful life could be had in a purely physical universe as known well by science, a somewhat more meaningful life would be possible if a spiritual realm also existed. God or a soul could enhance meaning in life, although they would not be major contributors. The extreme version of naturalism is the view that it would be better in respect of life’s meaning if there were no spiritual realm. From this perspective, God or a soul would be anti-matter, i.e., would detract from the meaning available to us, making a purely physical world (even if not this particular one) preferable.

Cross-cutting the moderate/extreme distinction is that between subjectivism and objectivism, which are theoretical accounts of the nature of meaningfulness insofar as it is physical. They differ in terms of the extent to which the human mind constitutes meaning and whether there are conditions of meaning that are invariant among human beings. Subjectivists believe that there are no invariant standards of meaning because meaning is relative to the subject, i.e., depends on an individual’s pro-attitudes such as her particular desires or ends, which are not shared by everyone. Roughly, something is meaningful for a person if she strongly wants it or intends to seek it out and she gets it. Objectivists maintain, in contrast, that there are some invariant standards for meaning because meaning is at least partly mind-independent, i.e., obtains not merely in virtue of being the object of anyone’s mental states. Here, something is meaningful (partially) because of its intrinsic nature, in the sense of being independent of whether it is wanted or intended; meaning is instead (to some extent) the sort of thing that merits these reactions.

There is logical space for an orthogonal view, according to which there are invariant standards of meaningfulness constituted by what all human beings would converge on from a certain standpoint. However, it has not been much of a player in the field (Darwall 1983, 164–66).

According to this version of naturalism, meaning in life varies from person to person, depending on each one’s variable pro-attitudes. Common instances are views that one’s life is more meaningful, the more one gets what one happens to want strongly, achieves one’s highly ranked goals, or does what one believes to be really important (Trisel 2002; Hooker 2008). One influential subjectivist has recently maintained that the relevant mental state is caring or loving, so that life is meaningful just to the extent that one cares about or loves something (Frankfurt 1988, 80–94, 2004). Another recent proposal is that meaningfulness consists of “an active engagement and affirmation that vivifies the person who has freely created or accepted and now promotes and nurtures the projects of her highest concern” (Belliotti 2019, 183).

Subjectivism was dominant in the middle of the twentieth century, when positivism, noncognitivism, existentialism, and Humeanism were influential (Ayer 1947; Hare 1957; Barnes 1967; Taylor 1970; Williams 1976). However, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, inference to the best explanation and reflective equilibrium became accepted forms of normative argumentation and were frequently used to defend claims about the existence and nature of objective value (or of “external reasons,” ones obtaining independently of one’s extant attitudes). As a result, subjectivism about meaning lost its dominance. Those who continue to hold subjectivism often remain suspicious of attempts to justify beliefs about objective value (e.g., Trisel 2002, 73, 79, 2004, 378–79; Frankfurt 2004, 47–48, 55–57; Wong 2008, 138–39; Evers 2017, 32, 36; Svensson 2017, 54). Theorists are moved to accept subjectivism typically because the alternatives are unpalatable; they are reasonably sure that meaning in life obtains for some people, but do not see how it could be grounded on something independent of the mind, whether it be the natural or the supernatural (or the non-natural). In contrast to these possibilities, it appears straightforward to account for what is meaningful in terms of what people find meaningful or what people want out of their lives. Wide-ranging meta-ethical debates in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of language are necessary to address this rationale for subjectivism.

There is a cluster of other, more circumscribed arguments for subjectivism, according to which this theory best explains certain intuitive features of meaning in life. For one, subjectivism seems plausible since it is reasonable to think that a meaningful life is an authentic one (Frankfurt 1988, 80–94). If a person’s life is significant insofar as she is true to herself or her deepest nature, then we have some reason to believe that meaning simply is a function of those matters for which the person cares. For another, it is uncontroversial that often meaning comes from losing oneself, i.e., in becoming absorbed in an activity or experience, as opposed to being bored by it or finding it frustrating (Frankfurt 1988, 80–94; Belliotti 2019, 162–70). Work that concentrates the mind and relationships that are engrossing seem central to meaning and to be so because of the subjective elements involved. For a third, meaning is often taken to be something that makes life worth continuing for a specific person, i.e., that gives her a reason to get out of bed in the morning, which subjectivism is thought to account for best (Williams 1976; Svensson 2017; Calhoun 2018).

Critics maintain that these arguments are vulnerable to a common objection: they neglect the role of objective value (or an external reason) in realizing oneself, losing oneself, and having a reason to live (Taylor 1989, 1992; Wolf 2010, 2015, 89–140). One is not really being true to oneself, losing oneself in a meaningful way, or having a genuine reason to live insofar as one, say, successfully maintains 3,732 hairs on one’s head (Taylor 1992, 36), cultivates one’s prowess at long-distance spitting (Wolf 2010, 104), collects a big ball of string (Wolf 2010, 104), or, well, eats one’s own excrement (Wielenberg 2005, 22). The counterexamples suggest that subjective conditions are insufficient to ground meaning in life; there seem to be certain actions, relationships, and states that are objectively valuable (but see Evers 2017, 30–32) and toward which one’s pro-attitudes ought to be oriented, if meaning is to accrue.

So say objectivists, but subjectivists feel the pull of the point and usually seek to avoid the counterexamples, lest they have to bite the bullet by accepting the meaningfulness of maintaining 3,732 hairs on one’s head and all the rest (for some who do, see Svensson 2017, 54–55; Belliotti 2019, 181–83). One important strategy is to suggest that subjectivists can avoid the counterexamples by appealing to the right sort of pro-attitude. Instead of whatever an individual happens to want, perhaps the relevant mental state is an emotional-perceptual one of seeing-as (Alexis 2011; cf. Hosseini 2015, 47–66), a “categorical” desire, that is, an intrinsic desire constitutive of one’s identity that one takes to make life worth continuing (Svensson 2017), or a judgment that one has a good reason to value something highly for its own sake (Calhoun 2018). Even here, though, objectivists will argue that it might “appear that whatever the will chooses to treat as a good reason to engage itself is, for the will, a good reason. But the will itself....craves objective reasons; and often it could not go forward unless it thought it had them” (Wiggins 1988, 136). And without any appeal to objectivity, it is perhaps likely that counterexamples would resurface.

Another subjectivist strategy by which to deal with the counterexamples is the attempt to ground meaningfulness, not on the pro-attitudes of an individual valuer, but on those of a group (Darwall 1983, 164–66; Brogaard and Smith 2005; Wong 2008). Does such an intersubjective move avoid (more of) the counterexamples? If so, does it do so more plausibly than an objective theory?

Objective naturalists believe that meaning in life is constituted at least in part by something physical beyond merely the fact that it is the object of a pro-attitude. Obtaining the object of some emotion, desire, or judgment is not sufficient for meaningfulness, on this view. Instead, there are certain conditions of the material world that could confer meaning on anyone’s life, not merely because they are viewed as meaningful, wanted for their own sake, or believed to be choiceworthy, but instead (at least partially) because they are inherently worthwhile or valuable in themselves.

Morality (the good), enquiry (the true), and creativity (the beautiful) are widely held instances of activities that confer meaning on life, while trimming toenails and eating snow––along with the counterexamples to subjectivism above––are not. Objectivism is widely thought to be a powerful general explanation of these particular judgments: the former are meaningful not merely because some agent (whether it is an individual, her society, or even God) cares about them or judges them to be worth doing, while the latter simply lack significance and cannot obtain it even if some agent does care about them or judge them to be worth doing. From an objective perspective, it is possible for an individual to care about the wrong thing or to be mistaken that something is worthwhile, and not merely because of something she cares about all the more or judges to be still more choiceworthy. Of course, meta-ethical debates about the existence and nature of value are again relevant to appraising this rationale.

Some objectivists think that being the object of a person’s mental states plays no constitutive role in making that person’s life meaningful, although they of course contend that it often plays an instrumental role––liking a certain activity, after all, is likely to motivate one to do it. Relatively few objectivists are “pure” in that way, although consequentialists do stand out as clear instances (e.g., Singer 1995; Smuts 2018, 75–99). Most objectivists instead try to account for the above intuitions driving subjectivism by holding that a life is more meaningful, not merely because of objective factors, but also in part because of propositional attitudes such as cognition, conation, and emotion. Particularly influential has been Susan Wolf’s hybrid view, captured by this pithy slogan: “Meaning arises when subjective attraction meets objective attractiveness” (Wolf 2015, 112; see also Kekes 1986, 2000; Wiggins 1988; Raz 2001, 10–40; Mintoff 2008; Wolf 2010, 2016; Fischer 2019, 9–23; Belshaw 2021, 160–81). This theory implies that no meaning accrues to one’s life if one believes in, is satisfied by, or cares about a project that is not truly worthwhile, or if one takes up a truly worthwhile project but fails to judge it important, be satisfied by it, or care about it. A related approach is that, while subjective attraction is not necessary for meaning, it could enhance it (e.g., Audi 2005, 344; Metz 2013, 183–84, 196–98, 220–25). For instance, a stereotypical Mother Teresa who is bored by and alienated from her substantial charity work might have a somewhat significant existence because of it, even if she would have an even more significant existence if she felt pride in it or identified with it.

There have been several attempts to capture theoretically what all objectively attractive, inherently worthwhile, or finally valuable conditions have in common insofar as they bear on meaning in a person’s life. Over the past few decades, one encounters the proposals that objectively meaningful conditions are just those that involve: positively connecting with organic unity beyond oneself (Nozick 1981, 594–619); being creative (Taylor 1987; Matheson 2018); living an emotional life (Solomon 1993; cf. Williams 2020, 56–78); promoting good consequences, such as improving the quality of life of oneself and others (Singer 1995; Audi 2005; Smuts 2018, 75–99); exercising or fostering rational nature in exceptional ways (Smith 1997, 179–221; Gewirth 1998, 177–82; Metz 2013, 222–36); progressing toward ends that can never be fully realized because one’s knowledge of them changes as one approaches them (Levy 2005); realizing goals that are transcendent for being long-lasting in duration and broad in scope (Mintoff 2008); living virtuously (May 2015, 61–138; McPherson 2020); and loving what is worth loving (Wolf 2016). There is as yet no convergence in the field on one, or even a small cluster, of these accounts.

One feature of a large majority of the above naturalist theories is that they are aggregative or additive, objectionably treating a life as a mere “container” of bits of life that are meaningful considered in isolation from other bits (Brännmark 2003, 330). It has become increasingly common for philosophers of life’s meaning, especially objectivists, to hold that life as a whole, or at least long stretches of it, can substantially affect its meaningfulness beyond the amount of meaning (if any) in its parts.

For instance, a life that has lots of beneficence and otherwise intuitively meaning-conferring conditions but that is also extremely repetitive (à la the movie Groundhog Day ) is less than maximally meaningful (Taylor 1987; Blumenfeld 2009). Furthermore, a life that not only avoids repetition but also ends with a substantial amount of meaningful (or otherwise desirable) parts seems to have more meaning overall than one that has the same amount of meaningful (desirable) parts but ends with few or none of them (Kamm 2013, 18–22; Dorsey 2015). Still more, a life in which its meaningless (or otherwise undesirable parts) cause its meaningful (desirable) parts to come about through a process of personal growth seems meaningful in virtue of this redemptive pattern, “good life-story,” or narrative self-expression (Taylor 1989, 48–51; Wong 2008; Fischer 2009, 145–77; Kauppinen 2012; May 2015, 61–138; Velleman 2015, 141–73). These three cases suggest that meaning can inhere in life as a whole, that is, in the relationships between its parts, and not merely in the parts considered in isolation. However, some would maintain that it is, strictly speaking, the story that is or could be told of a life that matters, not so much the life-story qua relations between events themselves (de Bres 2018).

There are pure or extreme versions of holism present in the literature, according to which the only possible bearer of meaning in life is a person’s life as a whole, and not any isolated activities, relationships, or states (Taylor 1989, 48–51; Tabensky 2003; Levinson 2004). A salient argument for this position is that judgments of the meaningfulness of a part of someone’s life are merely provisional, open to revision upon considering how they fit into a wider perspective. So, for example, it would initially appear that taking an ax away from a madman and thereby protecting innocent parties confers some meaning on one’s life, but one might well revise that judgment upon learning that the intention behind it was merely to steal an ax, not to save lives, or that the madman then took out a machine gun, causing much more harm than his ax would have. It is worth considering how far this sort of case is generalizable, and, if it can be to a substantial extent, whether that provides strong evidence that only life as a whole can exhibit meaningfulness.

Perhaps most objectivists would, at least upon reflection, accept that both the parts of a life and the whole-life relationships among the parts can exhibit meaning. Supposing there are two bearers of meaning in a life, important questions arise. One is whether a certain narrative can be meaningful even if its parts are not, while a second is whether the meaningfulness of a part increases if it is an aspect of a meaningful whole (on which see Brännmark 2003), and a third is whether there is anything revealing to say about how to make tradeoffs between the parts and whole in cases where one must choose between them (Blumenfeld 2009 appears to assign lexical priority to the whole).

Naturalists until recently had been largely concerned to show that meaning in life is possible without God or a soul; they have not spent much time considering how such spiritual conditions might enhance meaning, but have, in moderate fashion, tended to leave that possibility open (an exception is Hooker 2008). Lately, however, an extreme form of naturalism has arisen, according to which our lives would probably, if not unavoidably, have less meaning in a world with God or a soul than in one without. Although such an approach was voiced early on by Baier (1957), it is really in the past decade or so that this “anti-theist” position has become widely and intricately discussed.

One rationale, mentioned above as an objection to the view that God’s purpose constitutes meaning in life, has also been deployed to argue that the existence of God as such would necessarily reduce meaning, that is, would consist of anti-matter. It is the idea that master/servant and parent/child analogies so prominent in the monotheist religious traditions reveal something about our status in a world where there is a qualitatively higher being who has created us with certain ends in mind: our independence or dignity as adult persons would be violated (e.g., Baier 1957/2000, 118–20; Kahane 2011, 681–85; Lougheed 2020, 121–41). One interesting objection to this reasoning has been to accept that God’s existence is necessarily incompatible with the sort of meaning that would come (roughly stated) from being one’s own boss, but to argue that God would also make greater sorts of meaning available, offering a net gain to us (Mawson 2016, 110–58).

Another salient argument for thinking that God would detract from meaning in life appeals to the value of privacy (Kahane 2011, 681–85; Lougheed 2020, 55–110). God’s omniscience would unavoidably make it impossible for us to control another person’s access to the most intimate details about ourselves, which, for some, amounts to a less meaningful life than one with such control. Beyond questioning the value of our privacy in relation to God, one thought-provoking criticism has been to suggest that, if a lack of privacy really would substantially reduce meaning in our lives, then God, qua morally perfect person, would simply avoid knowing everything about us (Tooley 2018). Lacking complete knowledge of our mental states would be compatible with describing God as “omniscient,” so the criticism goes, insofar as that is plausibly understood as having as much knowledge as is morally permissible.

Turn, now, to major arguments for thinking that having a soul would reduce life’s meaning, so that if one wants a maximally meaningful life, one should prefer a purely physical world, or at least one in which people are mortal. First and foremost, there has been the argument that an immortal life could not avoid becoming boring (Williams 1973), rendering life pointless according to many subjective and objective theories. The literature on this topic has become enormous, with the central reply being that immortality need not get boring (for more recent discussions, see Fischer 2009, 79–101, 2019, 117–42; Mawson 2019, 51–52; Williams 2020, 30–41, 123–29; Belshaw 2021, 182–97). However, it might also be worth questioning whether boredom is sufficient for meaninglessness. Suppose, for instance, that one volunteers to be bored so that many others will not be bored; perhaps this would be a meaningful sacrifice to make. Being bored for an eternity would not be blissful or even satisfying, to be sure, but if it served the function of preventing others from being bored for an eternity, would it be meaningful (at least to some degree)? If, as is commonly held, sacrificing one’s life could be meaningful, why not also sacrificing one’s liveliness?

Another reason given to reject eternal life is that it would become repetitive, which would substantially drain it of meaning (Scarre 2007, 54–55; May 2009, 46–47, 64–65, 71; Smuts 2011, 142–44; cf. Blumenfeld 2009). If, as it appears, there are only a finite number of actions one could perform, relationships one could have, and states one could be in during an eternity, one would have to end up doing the same things again. Even though one’s activities might be more valuable than rolling a stone up a hill forever à la Sisyphus, the prospect of doing them over and over again forever is disheartening for many. To be sure, one might not remember having done them before and hence could avoid boredom, but for some philosophers that would make it all the worse, akin to having dementia and forgetting that one has told the same stories. Others, however, still find meaning in such a life (e.g., Belshaw 2021, 197, 205n41).

A third meaning-based argument against immortality invokes considerations of narrative. If the pattern of one’s life as a whole substantially matters, and if a proper pattern would include a beginning, a middle, and an end, it appears that a life that never ends would lack the relevant narrative structure. “Because it would drag on endlessly, it would, sooner or later, just be a string of events lacking all form....With immortality, the novel never ends....How meaningful can such a novel be?” (May 2009, 68, 72; see also Scarre 2007, 58–60). Notice that this objection is distinct from considerations of boredom and repetition (which concern novelty ); even if one were stimulated and active, and even if one found a way not to repeat one’s life in the course of eternity, an immortal life would appear to lack shape. In reply, some reject the idea that a meaningful life must be akin to a novel, and intead opt for narrativity in the form of something like a string of short stories that build on each other (Fischer 2009, 145–77, 2019, 101–16). Others, though, have sought to show that eternity could still be novel-like, deeming the sort of ending that matters to be a function of what the content is and how it relates to the content that came before (e.g., Seachris 2011; Williams 2020, 112–19).

There have been additional objections to immortality as undercutting meaningfulness, but they are prima facie less powerful than the previous three in that, if sound, they arguably show that an eternal life would have a cost, but probably not one that would utterly occlude the prospect of meaning in it. For example, there have been the suggestions that eternal lives would lack a sense of preciousness and urgency (Nussbaum 1989, 339; Kass 2002, 266–67), could not exemplify virtues such as courageously risking one’s life for others (Kass 2002, 267–68; Wielenberg 2005, 91–94), and could not obtain meaning from sustaining or saving others’ lives (Nussbaum 1989, 338; Wielenberg 2005, 91–94). Note that at least the first two rationales turn substantially on the belief in immortality, not quite immortality itself: if one were immortal but forgot that one is or did not know that at all, then one could appreciate life and obtain much of the virtue of courage (and, conversely, if one were not immortal, but thought that one is, then, by the logic of these arguments, one would fail to appreciate limits and be unable to exemplify courage).

The previous two sections addressed theoretical accounts of what would confer meaning on a human person’s life. Although these theories do not imply that some people’s lives are in fact meaningful, that has been the presumption of a very large majority of those who have advanced them. Much of the procedure has been to suppose that many lives have had meaning in them and then to consider in virtue of what they have or otherwise could. However, there are nihilist (or pessimist) perspectives that question this supposition. According to nihilism (pessimism), what would make a life meaningful in principle cannot obtain for any of us.

One straightforward rationale for nihilism is the combination of extreme supernaturalism about what makes life meaningful and atheism about whether a spiritual realm exists. If you believe that God or a soul is necessary for meaning in life, and if you believe that neither is real, then you are committed to nihilism, to the denial that life can have any meaning. Athough this rationale for nihilism was prominent in the modern era (and was more or less Camus’ position), it has been on the wane in analytic philosophical circles, as extreme supernaturalism has been eclipsed by the moderate variety.

The most common rationales for nihilism these days do not appeal to supernaturalism, or at least not explicitly. One cluster of ideas appeals to what meta-ethicists call “error theory,” the view that evaluative claims (in this case about meaning in life, or about morality qua necessary for meaning) characteristically posit objectively real or universally justified values, but that such values do not exist. According to one version, value judgments often analytically include a claim to objectivity but there is no reason to think that objective values exist, as they “would be entities or qualities or relations of a very strange sort, utterly different from anything else in the universe” (Mackie 1977/1990, 38). According to a second version, life would be meaningless if there were no set of moral standards that could be fully justified to all rational enquirers, but it so happens that such standards cannot exist for persons who can always reasonably question a given claim (Murphy 1982, 12–17). According to a third, we hold certain beliefs about the objectivity and universality of morality and related values such as meaning because they were evolutionarily advantageous to our ancestors, not because they are true. Humans have been “deceived by their genes into thinking that there is a distinterested, objective morality binding upon them, which all should obey” (Ruse and Wilson 1986, 179; cf. Street 2015). One must draw on the intricate work in meta-ethics that has been underway for the past several decades in order to appraise these arguments.

In contrast to error-theoretic arguments for nihilism, there are rationales for it accepting that objective values exist but denying that our lives can ever exhibit or promote them so as to obtain meaning. One version of this approach maintains that, for our lives to matter, we must be in a position to add objective value to the world, which we are not since the objective value of the world is already infinite (Smith 2003). The key premises for this view are that every bit of space-time (or at least the stars in the physical universe) have some positive value, that these values can be added up, and that space is infinite. If the physical world at present contains an infinite degree of value, nothing we do can make a difference in terms of meaning, for infinity plus any amount of value remains infinity. One way to question this argument, beyond doubting the value of space-time or stars, is to suggest that, even if one cannot add to the value of the universe, meaning plausibly comes from being the source of certain values.

A second rationale for nihilism that accepts the existence of objective value is David Benatar’s (2006, 18–59) intriguing “asymmetry argument” for anti-natalism, the view that it is immoral to bring new people into existence because doing so would always be on balance bad for them. For Benatar, the bads of existing (e.g., pains) are real disadvantages relative to not existing, while the goods of existing (pleasures) are not real advantages relative to not existing, since there is in the latter state no one to be deprived of them. If indeed the state of not existing is no worse than that of experiencing the benefits of existence, then, since existing invariably brings harm in its wake, it follows that existing is always worse compared to not existing. Although this argument is illustrated with experiential goods and bads, it seems generalizable to non-experiential ones, including meaning in life and anti-matter. The literature on this argument has become large (for a recent collection, see Hauskeller and Hallich 2022).

Benatar (2006, 60–92, 2017, 35–63) has advanced an additional argument for nihilism, one that appeals to Thomas Nagel’s (1986, 208–32) widely discussed analysis of the extremely external standpoint that human persons can take on their lives. There exists, to use Henry Sidgwick’s influential phrase, the “point of view of the universe,” that is, the standpoint that considers a human being’s life in relation to all times and all places. When one takes up this most external standpoint and views one’s puny impact on the world, little of one’s life appears to matter. What one does in a certain society on Earth over 75 years or so just does not amount to much, when considering the billions of temporal years and billions of light-years that make up space-time. Although this reasoning grants limited kinds of meaning to human beings, from a personal, social, or human perspective, Benatar both denies that the greatest sort of meaning––a cosmic one––is available to them and contends that this makes their lives bad, hence the “nihilist” tag. Some have objected that our lives could in fact have a cosmic significance, say, if they played a role in God’s plan (Quinn 2000, 65–66; Swinburne 2016, 154), were the sole ones with a dignity in the universe (Kahane 2014), or engaged in valuable activities that could be appreciated by anyone anywhere anytime (Wolf 2016, 261–62). Others naturally maintain that cosmic significance is irrelevant to appraising a human life, with some denying that it would be a genuine source of meaning (Landau 2017, 93–99), and others accepting that it would be but maintaining that the absence of this good would not count as a bad or merit regret (discussed in Benatar 2017, 56–62; Williams 2020, 108–11).

Finally, a distinguishable source of nihilism concerns the ontological, as distinct from axiological, preconditions for meaning in life. Perhaps most radically, there are those who deny that we have selves. Do we indeed lack selves, and, if we do, is a meaningful life impossible for us (see essays in Caruso and Flanagan 2018; Le Bihan 2019)? Somewhat less radically, there are those who grant that we have selves, but deny that they are in charge in the relevant way. That is, some have argued that we lack self-governance or free will of the sort that is essential for meaning in life, at least if determinism is true (Pisciotta 2013; essays in Caruso and Flanagan 2018). Non-quantum events, including human decisions, appear to be necessited by a prior state of the world, such that none could have been otherwise, and many of our decisions are a product of unconscious neurological mechanisms (while quantum events are of course utterly beyond our control). If none of our conscious choices could have been avoided and all were ultimately necessited by something external to them, perhaps they are insufficient to merit pride or admiration or to constitute narrative authorship of a life. In reply, some maintain that a compatibilism between determinism and moral responsibility applies with comparable force to meaning in life (e.g., Arpaly 2006; Fischer 2009, 145–77), while others contend that incompatibilism is true of moral responsibility but not of meaning (Pereboom 2014).

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How to cite this entry . Preview the PDF version of this entry at the Friends of the SEP Society . Look up topics and thinkers related to this entry at the Internet Philosophy Ontology Project (InPhO). Enhanced bibliography for this entry at PhilPapers , with links to its database.

Delon, N., 2021, “ The Meaning of Life ”, a bibliography on PhilPapers.
Metz, T., 2021, “ Life, Meaning of ”, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , E. Mason (ed.).
O’Brien, W., 2021, “ The Meaning of Life: Early Continental and Analytic Perspectives ”, in Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy , J. Fieser and B. Dowden (eds.).
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The Journey of a Lifetime

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – Jesus (John 10:10)

Abundant life! I don’t know about you, but I like the sound of that. A life rich in meaning, full of purpose, thick with substance, durable and flourishing—that’s the kind of life I want. It’s the kind of life that deep down we know we were made for. And it’s the kind of life Jesus is offering those who will follow Him.

Jesus is inviting you on the journey of a lifetime to know God, feed your soul, grow in love, and change your world. It’s a spiritual journey of abundant life—the life you and I were made for—and it all starts when we respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. So, what are you waiting for? The journey of a lifetime awaits! Jesus is calling, “Come, follow me!” (Luke 18:22).

The Four Stages of The Journey of a Lifetime
Sermon Series and Devotional Guide
Is the Journey worth it?
Your Next Steps

The Four Stages

At The Moody Church, the journey of a lifetime follows four stages outlined below.

Know God – Jesus initiates a relationship with His disciples. Jesus came to Earth to make God known, and here Jesus, the Son of God, is reaching out to people like you and me, inviting us to get to know Him, to follow Him. He wants a relationship with us. We were made to come alive in worship of God. Jesus is inviting you to know God through worship.

Feed Your Soul – Following Jesus is a life-transforming journey, and it is not a journey we take alone. Jesus is creating a community of disciples who will together learn how to look to Jesus for the nourishment of their souls. Our souls are starving for truth and life-giving relationships, and Jesus is creating a community of disciples where our souls can be fed. Jesus is inviting you to feed your soul through community.

Grow in Love – Jesus says that if we follow Him, He will make us into a new kind of person. This journey will deeply reform the character of our inner life. Jesus intends to make us like Himself. Jesus came to serve and give Himself away for others. And He invites us to grow in love as we give ourselves away as well. We are most fulfilled when we live for others. Jesus is inviting you to grow in love through service.

Change Your World – Jesus intends that His followers become “fishers of men.” It’s a metaphor, playing on the previous occupation of many of Jesus’ first disciples who were in fact fishermen. Jesus was speaking to their—and our —newfound purpose in life. Jesus is calling us to join Him in His rescue mission of bringing abundant life to the people around us. If you want to really change your world for eternity, there’s no greater opportunity than to join what Jesus is doing to redeem the world and renew people’s lives. Jesus is inviting you to change your world through mission.

The Journey of a Lifetime Sermon Series and Devotional Guide

Whether you are brand new to following Jesus or have been following Him most of your life, we hope this guide will help you along your way. It’s easy to use! Simply read one chapter a day, five days a week, for the next four weeks.

Download the guide at the link below.

Is the journey worth it?

Starting any journey can seem daunting at first. But if the destination is good, all the preparation is worthwhile. Watch some of the testimonies from people in our church family who’ve taken their next steps on the journey towards abundant life.

What are your next steps?

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"A journey" of a lifetime or "The journey..."

Thread starter Bansha
Start date Oct 17, 2009
Oct 17, 2009

Member Emeritus

Senior member.

Normally I agree with Copyright, but here I have to disagree and say that "The journey of a lifetime" is better. "The X of a lifetime" is a stock phrase, meaning that something is the best X you will ever experience in your life. It is intentionally hyperbolic. Saying that something will be "a journey of a lifetime" just doesn't sound right! Definitely go with "The" in this case. I would add, however, that the phrase is a cliche at this point. If you can, you might want to avoid it altogether, and just say that the journey will be memorable, or something to that effect. If you are trying to appeal to a sophisticated audience, a bit of understatement might be more effective than using marketing and advertising cliches.

9 of Clubs Tarot Meaning

J ust as the Cheshire Cat guided Alice through Wonderland, let me guide you on a journey to uncover the mysteries of the 9 of Clubs Tarot card.

This card, steeped in symbolism and historical significance, has a rich story to tell. The 9 of Clubs isn't one to be taken lightly; it's a card of power, persistence, and ultimate achievement.

Understanding its meaning can provide valuable insights into your personal and professional life. But beware, the path to understanding this card is not linear, it's full of twists and turns, hidden depths and layers, just waiting for you to unravel.

Basic Interpretation of 9 of Clubs

Diving right into the 9 of Clubs, you'll find it typically signifies a struggle or challenge that you may be facing, particularly one that requires inner strength and persistence to overcome. Much like the rest of the Clubs symbolism in Tarot, the 9 of clubs represents the mental and spiritual aspects of your life.

In the Tarot origins, the suit of clubs was associated with the element of fire, signifying transformation and change. So when you pull the 9 of Clubs, it's not just about weathering the storm, it's about coming out stronger on the other side. It's a call to harness your inner resources, to face your fears, and to understand that you're capable of more than you think.

Embrace the challenge, and you'll find wisdom and growth.

Historical Background of the Card

Now that you've grasped the basic interpretation of the 9 of Clubs, let's take a step back in time to explore the historical roots of this thought-provoking card.

The card origins trace back to the Italian playing card decks of the 15th century. During this period, these cards gained immense popularity due to their intriguing symbolism and cultural influence.

The 9 of Clubs, in particular, was a symbol of the struggle and growth, embodying the human spirit's resilience. Over time, tarot reading evolved into a form of divination, and the 9 of Clubs maintained its symbolic resonance.

Symbolism in the 9 of Clubs

Peering into the complex symbolism of the 9 of Clubs, you'll uncover a myriad of meanings deeply rooted in historical and cultural contexts. The club symbolism is closely tied to the spheres of knowledge and wisdom. It's a nod to the intellectual pursuits and mental resilience.

In card artistry, the nine clubs often hint at a journey nearing its end, with one final challenge to overcome. Each club can be seen as a stepping stone or hurdle you've navigated, demonstrating your growth and endurance. The lone figure often depicted on the card is you, standing tall despite the odds.

The 9 of Clubs is an intimate reminder of your strength, a testament to your ability to withstand life's trials. It's a card of resilience, wisdom, and personal power.

Love and Relationships Reading

While the 9 of Clubs brings to light your resilience and personal power, it also offers profound insights when it comes to love and relationships. This card encourages you to align your romantic expectations with reality, to find balance between what you desire and what is.

It's about recognising that emotional fulfillment isn't just about grand romantic gestures, but also the small, everyday acts of love. You're urged to embrace vulnerability and open yourself up to the potential for deep, intimate connection.

This card is a reminder that true resilience in love means not only standing strong as an individual, but being brave enough to let someone else in. It signifies a journey towards a love that's both empowering and fulfilling.

Career and Work Interpretation

In the context of your career and work, the 9 of Clubs tarot card suggests a period of resilience, personal strength, and profound transformation. The card invites you to embrace workplace transitions with open arms, viewing them as opportunities for growth. It's a sign of upcoming career advancements, and it's nudging you to be bold, take initiatives, and unleash your potential.

It signifies that you're on the brink of a significant shift in your professional life. The challenges you face aren't hindrances but catalysts for your evolution. The 9 of Clubs encourages you to remain steadfast. Look forward to the fruits of your labor and trust in your journey. You're not just surviving in your work environment; you're thriving and transforming.

Keep going, your resilience is your power.

Health Implications of 9 of Clubs

Shifting focus to your health, the 9 of Clubs tarot card brings its transformative energy into play, suggesting an era of personal growth, strength, and possible healing. This card encourages you to prioritize your wellbeing, fostering a Clubs Tarot Diet that emphasizes balance and nourishment.

Clubs Tarot Diet :
Prioritize fresh, wholesome foods.
Seek balance in your eating habits.

The 9 of Clubs also indicates the potential for Mental Stress Relief. It's time to release negative thought patterns and embrace a more positive mindset.

Mental Stress Relief :
Practice mindfulness and meditation.
Incorporate regular physical activity into your routine.

9 of Clubs in a Tarot Spread

When you encounter the 9 of Clubs in a tarot spread, it's essential to understand its position and surrounding cards for a detailed interpretation. Clubs symbolism, often related to creativity, action, and will, can guide you in deciphering messages from the universe.

If the 9 of Clubs appears in the future position, it might suggest an upcoming period of personal growth. In the past position, it may indicate lessons learned or experiences that have shaped your current situation.

Tarot misconceptions often lead to fear or misunderstandings, but remember, every card has a spectrum of meanings—both positive and negative. It's your personal connection and intuitive interpretation that brings the reading to life.

Embrace the wisdom of the tarot and let it illuminate your path.

Reversed 9 of Clubs Meaning

Turning the 9 of Clubs upside down, you'll find its reversed meaning offers a unique perspective, often signifying internal struggles, self-doubt, or hindered creativity. This card's Reverse Interpretations are multifaceted, shedding light on the more complex aspects of your psyche.

The 9 of Clubs reversed often highlights :
Club Misinterpretations : where you might be reading situations or people wrongly, causing unnecessary stress or confusion.
Self-doubt : a crippling fear of making wrong decisions or not being good enough.

While these interpretations might seem negative, remember they're also opportunities for growth. Understand these signals, work through your fears, recalibrate your perceptions and you'll find your creativity and confidence flowing freely again.

In tarot, as in life, sometimes it's the challenging cards that catalyze the most profound transformations.

Numerological Significance of the Card

Moving beyond the complexities of reversed interpretations, you'll also find a profound significance in the numerical value of the 9 of Clubs card in tarot readings.

The number 9 in Tarot mathematics carries distinct energy, symbolizing the completion of a cycle and the preparation for a new one. It's a number that encourages introspection and spiritual enlightenment.

When you look at the 9 of Clubs, consider this number symbolism: it may be pointing towards the culmination of a particular phase in your life, urging you to draw on your inner strength for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

This numerical significance, often underestimated, weaves an intricate layer of depth into your readings, making them more insightful and personalized. So, don't overlook this aspect of the cards; it can offer you invaluable guidance.

9 of Clubs in Different Tarot Decks

The depiction of the Clubs suit, particularly the 9 of Clubs, varies intriguingly across different tarot decks, each offering unique insights and interpretations. As you explore the world of tarot, you'll find that deck variations are abundant, and club symbolism can change dramatically from one deck to the next.

Rider-Waite Deck : This deck stays true to traditional symbolism. The 9 of Clubs shows a figure guided by a magical wand, embodying an inner journey. The wand represents willpower, the figure stands for exploration.
Thoth Tarot Deck : In stark contrast, this deck uses abstract symbolism. The 9 of Clubs looks like a maze, symbolising complexity and challenge. The maze represents life's complexities, the geometric patterns stand for interconnectedness.

Spiritual Lessons From 9 of Clubs

From exploring the varied representations in different tarot decks, let's now shift our focus towards the spiritual learnings the 9 of Clubs can bring to your life.

This card, under the Club's influence, often signifies an impending spiritual awakening. It invites you to embrace change and growth, urging you to step outside your comfort zone.

It's a call to broaden your horizons and open your heart to new experiences. This card also teaches you to face your fears and confront the unknown, as these are often the paths that lead to spiritual growth.

The Element and Suit of 9 of Clubs

Ever wondered about the significance of the element and suit of the 9 of Clubs in a Tarot deck? Let's explore the Club Suit's Origin and the Nine's Symbolism to enrich your understanding.

The Club Suit's Origin : The suit of Clubs corresponds to the element of fire, symbolizing passion, motivation, and willpower. Its origin is found in the Tarot's wands suit, representing growth, creativity, and initiative.
Nine's Symbolism : The number nine is associated with wisdom, spiritual insight, and completion. It signifies the final stage before a new cycle begins, suggesting a time of reflection and preparation.

This combination implies a time of fiery ambition guided by wisdom, a period of intense creativity before a new cycle. Don't let its intensity intimidate you; it's a potent force for personal growth.

Psychic Insights on the Card

Peering into the psychic insights of the 9 of Clubs, you'll find a card rich with messages of personal power, potential, and transformation. It's a beacon in the Tarot deck, guiding you towards personal growth and self-awareness.

The 9 of Clubs encourages you to confront your innermost fears and overcome obstacles by tapping into your innate strength and resilience.

From Clairvoyant Perspectives, this card signifies a time of introspection, where you're urged to dig deep and unearth your true potential. It's a spiritual nudge, nudging you towards a journey of self-discovery and enlightenment.

Incorporating Tarot Meditation into your daily routine can help you connect with the energy of this card, fostering resilience, courage, and personal growth.

Engage with the 9 of Clubs, it's your personal guide towards a transformative journey.

Personal Growth and 9 of Clubs

Harnessing the power of the 9 of Clubs in your personal growth journey, you're not just navigating life's hurdles but actively transforming them into stepping stones for your development. It's a card of resilience and determination, mirroring your ability to face challenges head-on.

Club symbolism, deeply rooted in growth obstacles, offers rich insights:

Club as a Symbol :
Represents your struggles, acting as a reminder that hardships are temporary.
Symbolizes potential, indicating that you're capable of turning adversities into opportunities.

Growth Obstacles and the 9 of Clubs:

Stresses the importance of resilience in overcoming growth obstacles.
Exemplifies the essence of personal growth : the transformation of adversity into strength.

In essence, the 9 of Clubs encourages you to seize every challenge as a chance for self-improvement.

Notable Famous Readings With 9 of Clubs

Did you know that the 9 of Clubs has played a significant role in several famous tarot readings? One such instance revolves around the legendary Marilyn Monroe. In a reading shortly before her tragic demise, the 9 of Clubs made an appearance, symbolizing the completion of a cycle in her tumultuous life. This card often signifies an end of a phase and the start of another.

In historical tarot events, the 9 of Clubs surfaced during a reading for the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte. Interpreters suggested impending transformation, reflecting his looming fall from power.

Hopefully, these examples of celebrity tarot readings have brought the significance of the 9 of Clubs to life. This card's influence in famous readings serves as a testament to its profound meaning.

The 9 of Clubs tarot card holds deep significance in love, work, and personal growth. Its rich historical background and symbolism provide insightful interpretations.

The card's element and suit add to its power, offering psychic insights. Notable readings with this card emphasize its importance.

So, remember, the 9 of Clubs isn't just a card—it's a tool for understanding and navigating the complexities of your life. Embrace its wisdom and let it guide you on your personal journey.

The post 9 of Clubs Tarot Meaning appeared first on Sarah Scoop .

Curious about the meaning of the 9 of Clubs Tarot card? Read on to understand its symbolism and interpretation in a Tarot reading.

How to Use lifetime in a Sentence

It would have taken me a lifetime to read all those books.
Childhood seems a lifetime ago now!

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lifetime.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

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Navigate Your Career Path Like the Road Trip of a Lifetime

Carole-Ann Penney

Leave space for spontaneous detours and exploration.

Over the past few years, the way we work has changed. Recent data show that working in a single company, or staying confined to a single job title, for several years is becoming rarer. Not everyone’s career paths will be traditional and resemble a climb up a mountain. And that’s okay. We need a new way to approach our careers, one that allows us to be nimble and resilient. Why not approach your paths like the road trip of a lifetime — to build an intentional career path that is unique, enjoyable, and adaptive to change.

Get in the driver’s seat. You don’t have to be confined to a predetermined path and you don’t have to stay on a single track — you can curate a portfolio of experiences. You can embark on a diverse and adventurous journey filled with discovery.
Know that the plan is iterative. When you set off on a road trip, you don’t plug your ultimate destination into the GPS and drive there as quickly and directly as possible. You ask yourself some key questions about what you want to experience along the journey: What kinds of places do I want to visit? What do I want to see and experience? When you embark on your career, know that it is okay to make detours.
Be open to unexpected opportunities and load up your trunk. On a road trip, change is expected — that’s what makes it a rich adventure. Approach your career path with openness to unforeseen possibilities and seize them. You can even loop back to revisit somewhere you’ve been before with fresh eyes and new experience under your belt. As you explore, practice articulating the connections between where you’ve been and where you’re going. You should learn how to transfer your unique skills to each new role, as they can make you an asset in new spaces.

Gloria, a client of mine, thought her career path would be traditional and resemble a climb up a mountain. She aimed to follow the steps to success: First, she would choose a mountain by picking a field of work. Then, she would put in her time and build specialized skills. Next, she would shoot for the summit. She’d always been told that when you’re aiming to grow, there’s no room for stagnation or complacency, only linear advancement.

Carole-Ann Penney is a coach and trainer who helps mission-driven leaders navigate their careers with purpose and resilience. As the Founder of Penney Leadership and a facilitator for Harvard Business Publishing’s corporate leadership development programs, Carole Ann guides professionals at all levels to step into their authentic leadership and craft an impactful career path that aligns with who they are.

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Branching Out

To help build a family tree, single mom Amelia tracks down her daughter's biological father. It becomes a journey of trust, love, and discovering the meaning of family. To help build a family tree, single mom Amelia tracks down her daughter's biological father. It becomes a journey of trust, love, and discovering the meaning of family. To help build a family tree, single mom Amelia tracks down her daughter's biological father. It becomes a journey of trust, love, and discovering the meaning of family.

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Book review: Lisa Ko’s Memory Piece is a tender, three-part search for meaning

Memory Piece

Fiction/Riverhead Books/Paperback/304 pages/$30.51/Amazon SG ( amzn.asia/d/fNR66EQ ) 4 stars

Three lonely girls, three separate social circles, three divergent ambitions. They are brought together by a Fourth of July barbecue in 1983 and a yearning for a greater purpose.

Even as the narrative swells and splinters, following these Asian-American girls as they careen down different paths – to a cemetery, into one temporary home after another, through the turn of the millennium and then four decades into the future – their stories remain threaded together by an enduring childhood bond.

American novelist Lisa Ko’s second novel, Memory Piece, is a time capsule of friendship, romance, queerness, Asian-American identity, gentrification, capitalism, the tech boom and bust.

It is a lot to pack into 300 pages and the only reason the story does not crack under the weight of its own ambition is because Ko is able to craft three fully fleshed-out, chaotically human vessels through which to explore this cornucopia of ideas.

Each protagonist has a stylistically distinct section.

Performance artist Giselle Chin’s journey out of obscurity is punctuated by her artistic manifestos. The omission of quotation marks thrusts readers into coder Jackie Ong’s stream of consciousness. Social activist Ellen Ng’s first-person chapters are short and assertive. Like her, they do not linger in one place for long.

Giselle and Jackie are shaped, in part, by their complex familial relationships, which are explored at some length in the novel.

Giselle’s subdued home life forces her to seek excitement elsewhere – by pushing the boundaries of creative expression. Jackie, an only child, grew up privileged but lonely, turning to computers for company. Both grapple with integrity and the faltering promise of their youthful passions as they get sucked into the more sinister side of their industries.

Meanwhile, Ellen flits in and out of their orbits: To Giselle, she is an elusive presence, dropping in only occasionally to interrogate her art-making process and tease her for being a “Bad Asian”. She concretises in Jackie’s section – first as a friend, then roommate, lover, stranger and friend again.

By the time Ellen’s first chapter arrives 170 pages in, readers have a vague idea of who she is, but not enough to pick up where the plot left off 40 years earlier. Having to get reacquainted with her ever-expanding cast of friends this late into the novel feels like a bit of a slog.

On top of that, readers are suddenly plunged into a dismal future world overrun by gentrification. In contrast to the detailed, lived-in tapestry Ko weaves of the 1980s and 1990s, her exposition-heavy approximation of 2040s New York feels tedious and hollow.

Giselle and Jackie appear then only in memories, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Friends grow distant over time and Ko consistently confronts the vicissitudes of friendship with unflinching frankness.

For instance, Giselle muses about “feeling guilty around Jackie for some reason” and being unable to reach Ellen. Later, Jackie wonders if her friends will abandon her for being withdrawn, reflecting that there are “rules for relationships and she doesn’t know them”.

Yet, when they do meet, they slide back into their old camaraderie with the ease of lifelong friends.

Still, this reviewer never quite gets a sense of what binds the women together as a trio. Apart from a brief prank-calling session at the introductory barbecue, they do not spend any time together as a group until they raid an abandoned warehouse midway through the story.

Perhaps it is enough that their lives unfold in tandem, through snatches of gossip exchanged at two-by-two meet-ups, such that when the reader stands back and squints, he or she can vaguely make out the impression of a whole.

Perhaps there was simply not enough time. While Giselle can spend a year on each project, Ko does not have that luxury. Like an archivist, she straddles past and future, shaping these memories into a tale of grit and girlhood that at once disturbs, resonates and warns.

If you like this, read: Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf Publishing Group, 2022, $21.59, Amazon SG, go to amzn.asia/d/9JoHAkA ). This story, set over the course of several decades, follows three friends as they enter the world of video game design.

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What your Saturn sign reveals about your personality and life journey, according to an astrologer

The planet of responsibilities has a life lesson for everyone...

saturn planet with rings in outer space among star dust and srars titan moon seen elements of this image furnished by nasa

What does Saturn represent in your birth chart?

As the last visible planet in the sky, Saturn is a defining force, tasked with helping create structure and order in your life. So it should come as no surprise to learn that the ringed planet represents anything and anyone that has authority over you. Throughout childhood, it denotes parents (especially father figures), teachers, and elders. In adulthood, it signifies bosses, mentors, and even the government.

Within your internal life, Saturn defines how you parent yourself and respond to life’s most significant challenges. The zodiac sign and astrological house that Saturn occupies in your birth chart also colors your ability to show up for yourself and build something meaningful. Translation: You will struggle the most in the area of life (a.k.a. astrological house) this planet occupies, but eventually, this is the area you can—and hopefully will!—master.

How does Saturn function in astrology?

Every seven years, Saturn will pay you a visit to “check up on your overall maturation progress.” These check-ups happen when you turn 7, 14, 21, 29, 36, 43, 51, and 59. The most significant visits occur at age 29, when you experience your first Saturn return—and at age 59, when you experience your second Saturn return.

Whenever Saturn pays you a visit, you are asked to focus and work hard. However, in the end, you'll be rewarded for a job well done. It is very common to get engaged or married, begin a high-profile job, become a parent, or buy a house whenever Saturn is activated in your birth chart. On the flip side, these Saturn activations also happen to be times in which people pay the consequences of reckless acts. After all, because Saturn has a strong connection to justice, it is the "planetary ruler of karma." (Karma tends to have a negative connotation, but that's not always the case here—the ringed planet can bring either positive or negative karma back to you based on your actions.)

If you don’t know your Saturn sign, you can discover it by entering your birth data in this free online birth chart calculator. Ahead, here's everything you need to know about your Saturn sign and the life lessons it has in store for you:

Saturn in Aries

Aries is typically considered the “leader of the pack” in astrology , but if your Saturn is in this zodiac sign, you may have difficulty showing and harnessing your leadership skills. Learning to assert yourself will be key for self-growth, as will not getting down on yourself when you fail. (It happens to everyone!)

What's more: Because Mars rules your sense of responsibility, working toward one big ultimate life goal is the secret to your success. You'll also benefit from doing strategic sports, like martial arts or tennis, because they can help you move past the need to achieve instant gratification.

Saturn in Taurus

If you have stern Saturn in Taurus , one of your life lessons is to master the material, tangible realm. It’s crucial that you don’t allow a scarcity mindset to inform your ability to attract wealth and even love. Focusing on building a secure and stable foundation for yourself and your people is your main priority, but that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying the pleasures of life.

And since Venus—the planet of personal values —is your absolute teacher, learning to truly value yourself as well as your unique talents is also key.

Saturn in Gemini

If you were born with Saturn in Gemini , learning to express yourself in an orderly, organised manner is one of life’s biggest lessons. Perhaps due to childhood preconditioning, you may find it hard to share your ideas. Establishing a closer connection with communication planet Mercury will be important for you throughout your life, so a career in writing, editing, research, or education could be instrumental to finding your voice.

Saturn in Cancer

If the ringed planet was in Cancer when you were born, you may have had a difficult childhood. Perhaps you lacked a sense of real safety or security and even experienced “tough love” from your parents.

To overcome these feelings, it’s crucial that you allow yourself to be vulnerable, open yourself to love, and create your chosen family. Pursuing a career that encourages you to show your nurturing side can allow you to find healing within yourself and put you on a fulfilling life path.

Saturn in Leo

Being born with Saturn in Leo means you may have difficulty expressing your talents and, perhaps, what makes you truly unique. Learning how to thrive in the “limelight” will enable to grow and evolve.

As the sun (a star!) rules over Leo, it urges you to express yourself by showing the world the beautiful things you can create. A career in the arts and even embracing a hobby as a performer can help you overcome your (literal and figurative) stage fright.

Saturn in Virgo

If your Saturn sign is in Virgo , you are a master at building strong foundations and creating success in your career. You have impeccable attention to detail, which most likely landed you a job as an editor, fact-checker, or even accountant.

However, this planet-sign combination also means you have a tendency to overwork yourself. While your devotion to perfectionism is admirable, it can also drive you to have weak boundaries and eventually burn yourself out. Learning to relax and be less nit-picky with yourself and others is your biggest life lesson.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ASTROLOGY

Saturn in Libra

Being born with Saturn in Libra gives you an incredible sense of responsibility. Whether it’s career, friendships, or love—when you’re in it, you’re in it for the long haul. You trust people and they trust you, as you’re a master in the art of relating to others.

You do struggle with indecision, though, due to a deep fear of making a mistake. To avoid this analysis paralysis, you must trust that you’re doing your best. Libra is Saturn’s absolute favourite sign to be in (lucky you!), so trust in your innate ability to see both sides of the story.

Saturn in Scorpio

Having the planet of responsibility in the most intense of all zodiac signs makes you incredibly strong and resilient. Possessing all that Saturn-Scorpio power and stamina means you can do it all.

However, being a force of nature also comes with a deep fear of being vulnerable. To avoid feeling stiff and getting stuck, it’s crucial that you embrace the power of change—it's the only constant in life, after all! Learning to trust others and relate to them on an intimate level is also a key part of your lifelong journey.

Saturn in Sagittarius

If your Saturn is in the optimistic sign of Sagittarius , you may have a bit of trouble accessing this feeling at times. You must realise that your periods of growth are intermittent—they won't always arrive when you expect them.

A true philosopher in nature, you do better when you focus your time and energy on learning, as this planet-sign combination is all about expanding the higher mind. While world travel might have been difficult for you in your earlier years, it is also a vehicle for self-knowledge. Explore!

Saturn in Capricorn

If you were born with the planet of responsibility in the most ambitious of all signs , you’re the epitome of authority. This is the planet-sign combination CEOs are made of, so you’re most likely in a position of authority within your industry.

You’re dependable and capable, but can sometimes be a bit too rigid with the rules. This is merely because failure isn’t in your vocabulary. However, relinquishing control once in a while teaches you that making mistakes is a big part of your journey toward self-mastery.

Saturn in Aquarius

If your Saturn is in Aquarius , you're a trendsetter, which is something you likely noticed at an early age. You may have grown up feeling like you didn't belong and only needed to know the rules so you could break them. You’re an intellectual, a deep thinker, and someone whose role might be bringing humanity into the future (no pressure!).

You might struggle with certain contradictions, like, for example, toggling between being introverted and extroverted, and even holding traditional and futuristic points of view simultaneously. A career in which you can build a vision for the future based on tried and trusted methods is a great way for you to harness your inherent gifts.

Saturn in Pisces

If your Saturn sign is Pisces , you might struggle with building your life’s foundations the traditional way. Because the ringed planet influences work and career, making a living via a typical nine-to-five office job can feel limiting to you. Since you thrive on change, you do better when you leave yourself room to make adjustments in anything you do.

Your belief system is also in constant flux, which might sometimes make you feel like you're having an identity crisis and create the illusion of “feeling lost.” Learning to embrace, not escape, the pressures of reality is your true lesson in life, as is having strong boundaries.

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IMAGES

50+ Journey Quotes For Travel And Life Inspiration
what is the meaning of life .. hmmm
Quote: Life is a journey....
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Book Review: Journeys of a Lifetime
Mike Krzyzewski Quote: “Every season is a journey. Every journey is a

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Journey of a Lifetime
Susan Lucci's Iconic Journey: Lifetime Achievement at Daytime Emmys

COMMENTS

The Meaning Behind The Song: Of a Lifetime by Journey
The chorus, "Singing more of a lifetime," carries a powerful message. It reminds us that life is a continuous journey, and each moment is an opportunity to learn, grow, and embrace new experiences. It encourages us to seize every moment and make the most of our time on this earth. The second verse of the song delves into the idea of taking ...
The Meaning Behind The Song: Of a Lifetime by Journey
Answer: "Of a Lifetime" was inspired by the experiences and emotions of the band members. It reflects their thoughts on love, sacrifice, and personal growth. 2. Who wrote the song "Of a Lifetime"? Answer: "Of a Lifetime" was written by Neal Schon, George Tickner, and Gregg Rolie, members of the band Journey. Their collaboration ...
Journey
You put it down-all that I'm thinking. but take a long and distant search, when all is right. you take for granted. You can't look down but you're no worse. Singin' more of a lifetime. The countless visions that are drifting. The silver dreams you hate to lose. There's no harm. We've all been waiting.
51 Meaningful Quotes About How Life is a Journey
Meaningful Life is a Journey Quotes. "If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But by all means, keep moving.". - Martin Luther King, Jr. "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.". - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Meaning of Of a Lifetime by Journey
April 4, 2024. In "Of a Lifetime" by Journey, the lyrics delve into themes of introspection, the passage of time, and the importance of embracing one's journey through life. The song opens with a sense of disorientation and the need to reconnect with oneself, as symbolized by the mist slowly lifting and the sound of life misplacing the mind.
Realizing Your Meaning: 5 Ways to Live a Meaningful Life
Finding meaning in life is a journey that could start with something as simple as a pen and paper, deep reflection, and one of our tools mentioned above. ... Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kahler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology ...
Journey
You're sitting, spellbound throughout time. I hope that you remember what you find. Singing more of a lifetime. You put it down - all that I'm thinking. But take a long and distant search. When ...
The Journey of Life
For more often than not, 'success in life' is generally taken to be (1), attaining a high degree of financial security; (2) having achieved a good social position; or (3), having acquired a ...
Of a Lifetime
Overall Meaning. The lyrics of Journey's song "Of a Lifetime" speak about memories, time, and the power of searching for something deeper. The mist lifting is symbolic of the veil being lifted from the singer's eyes as they become more aware of the passing of time and the importance of living in the moment. The line "the sound of life ...
Life is a journey
Life is not a project, but a journey to be enjoyed.". - Catherine Pulsifer. "The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place ...
The Journey of a Lifetime: Discovering the Meaning of Life Through
D iscover the meaning of life through the eyes of Alin Stan as he takes you on a journey of a lifetime filled with personal experiences and insights. Uncover the hidden gems of wisdom that can ...
Journey Of Life Quotes (479 quotes)
Through it all, you do nothing but flow. Onward, onward, ever toward your destination.". "Journey is the map as to not on paper but in the cause of our experiences.". 479 quotes have been tagged as journey-of-life: Mandy Hale: 'You'll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken.
OF A LIFETIME definition and meaning
If you describe something as the chance or experience of a lifetime, you are emphasizing that.... Click for English pronunciations, examples sentences, video.
10 Awesome Poems About the Journey of Life
Cease the noise, let the quiet increase. In the forest of life, lessons are learned, Earned in the tranquility for which we yearned. Life, a journey through a forest's maze, A gaze into nature's mysterious ways. In the woods, we wander and explore, More of life's secrets, in its core. 7.
Of a lifetime Definition & Meaning
The meaning of OF A LIFETIME is —used to designate something as the greatest moment or event of its kind in a person's life. How to use of a lifetime in a sentence.
Why Do We Say, 'Life Is a Journey Not a Destination'?
Therefore, we say "life is a journey, not a destination" because it reminds us that life is an ongoing journey of learning and growing. A common saying spoken is "life is a journey, not a destination.". This is a very popular phrase that is used across the world. If a person hears this saying often or it becomes overused, it can lose ...
15 Ways to Find Your Purpose of Life & Realize Your Meaning
Excellent Article. The way ' meaning' and 'Purpose' is differentiated is giving clarity to many who get caught in a hazy situation.Purpose is constant and meaning may shift along the journey of life.Purpose is Values driven and Meaning is Actions driven. Enjoyed a lot. Reply
The journey through life
The journey through life. The journey through life is filled with wonder, challenges, broken hearts, extreme highs and lows, celebrations, special moments and memories that define our experience as a human. It is these events, planned or unexpected, that impact our travels and define our purpose. To follow the right path, and to remain true to ...
The Meaning of Life
3. Naturalism. Recall that naturalism is the view that a physical life is central to life's meaning, that even if there is no spiritual realm, a substantially meaningful life is possible. Like supernaturalism, contemporary naturalism admits of two distinguishable variants, moderate and extreme (Metz 2019).
The Journey of a Lifetime
At The Moody Church, the journey of a lifetime follows four stages outlined below. Know God - Jesus initiates a relationship with His disciples. Jesus came to Earth to make God known, and here Jesus, the Son of God, is reaching out to people like you and me, inviting us to get to know Him, to follow Him. He wants a relationship with us.
The Kaleidoscope of Life: A journey of meaning, Purpose, and ...
The Enduring Journey Of Growth: Life is a constantly changing experience, and growth is the most significant aspect of it. It is characterized by personal growth, self-reflection, and the capacity ...
"A journey" of a lifetime or "The journey..."
It is intentionally hyperbolic. Saying that something will be "a journey of a lifetime" just doesn't sound right! Definitely go with "The" in this case. I would add, however, that the phrase is a cliche at this point. If you can, you might want to avoid it altogether, and just say that the journey will be memorable, or something to that effect.
9 of Clubs Tarot Meaning
J ust as the Cheshire Cat guided Alice through Wonderland, let me guide you on a journey to uncover the mysteries of the 9 of Clubs Tarot card. This card, steeped in symbolism and historical ...
6 phrases that mean you live a happier, more hopeful life than most
These statements indicate you're flourishing, says Dr. Alphonsus Obayuwana: "Happy, full of hope, and functioning well emotionally and socially."
Examples of 'Lifetime' in a Sentence
After a lifetime spent on the sandy shores, Daisy died of old age on October 15. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living , 6 Dec. 2023
Navigate Your Career Path Like the Road Trip of a Lifetime
Summary. Over the past few years, the way we work has changed. Recent data show that working in a single company, or staying confined to a single job title, for several years is becoming rarer.
Branching Out (TV Movie 2024)
Branching Out: Directed by Maclain Nelson. With Sarah Drew, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Gabe Baker, Cora Bella. To help build a family tree, single mom Amelia tracks down her daughter's biological father. It becomes a journey of trust, love, and discovering the meaning of family.
Book review: Lisa Ko's Memory Piece is a tender, three-part search for
Life Toggle Dropdown. Food; ... three-part search for meaning Memory Piece by Lisa Ko is a time capsule of friendship, romance, queerness, Asian-American identity, gentrification, capitalism and ...
Saturn sign: Meaning, life lessons, how to find yours in astrology
Translation: You will struggle the most in the area of life (a.k.a. astrological house) this planet occupies, but eventually, this is the area you can—and hopefully will!—master.

Of A Lifetime

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51 Meaningful Quotes About How Life is a Journey

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Embark on a Journey of Life: Exploring the Pathway’s Prose

Key Takeaways:

10 Amazing Poems About The Journey of Life

2. River of Time

3. Mountain Ascent

4. Desert Crossing

5. Sea Voyage

6. Forest Trail

7. Urban Odyssey

8. Country Road

9. Stairway to Dreams

10. Galactic Trek

What Is the Journey of Life?

What Are the Different Paths We Take in Life?

What Is the Meaning of Life?

How Do We Find Our Purpose in Life?

What Are the Challenges We Face in Life?

How Do We Overcome Obstacles in Our Journey?

What Are the Lessons We Learn Along the Way?

How Do We Grow and Evolve on Our Journey?

What Are the Milestones in Our Journey of Life?

What Are the Significant Moments That Shape Us?

How Do We Find Happiness and Fulfillment on Our Journey?

What Brings Us Joy and Contentment in Life?

What Is the Legacy We Leave Behind on Our Journey?

How Do We Make a Positive Impact on Others?

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