how do we infuse our actions with meaning?
in the past, we have connected our actions with giving
glory to god thus creating meaning for our actions…
but how does modern man create meaning with our actions?
I go to the store and buy groceries… and the meaning of that actions is……
I am feeding myself and my family… that is the meaning of going to the store…
I work 5 days of the week, roughly 32 hours, (because of my back issues, I can’t work
any more hours during the week) and I have been working for over 40 years, since
I was 17… and what is the meaning of all this work? I get money from which
I pay my bills… but in reality, think about it……is there any meaning to
working for 40 years? none that I can see… it is an pointless exercise that
has no meaning outside of putting food on my table…but this is the failure
of modern man… we can only think in terms of being practical… we can no
longer think in any other terms… if making money is the point of my existence,
there is no point to my existence… there is no meaning if I spend my existence
trying to make and/or spend money…how do I create meaning in my life
without any reference to theology or biology?
we can create meaning by creating a goal in which we can achieve
our goals individually and collectively…a goal creates meaning and
purpose in our lives… but the goal must have some value that is
above or beyond just materalistic or monetary value…
for we must begin to understand that our current ideology
of materalism has failed with destructive results on planet earth…
and how can we tell if the ideology of materialism has failed?
we can see the results in the empty and pointless days of our lives…
we work and then we work some more… we work to live and that is no
life at all…the current nihilism that permeates our lives and our society
and our souls is symptom enough to tell us that the materialistic ideology
has failed…….
capitalism has failed because it is nihilistic which leaves us hopeless
and in despair…….we lead lives of quiet desperation…….
and we fill our days with attempts to forget our despair with
drugs and booze and TV and the promise of materialism (a better life by
buying things… an empty promise)
how do we achieve what seems to be the impossible… achieving
meaning in our empty and pointless lives? a return to god? we cannot
reach meaning by reaching for another empty promise…
how do I, Kropotkin, rationalize, understand the meaning of my life?
What can I think of that will give my life some meaning? I can give
my life meaning by searching for and the understanding of what it means
to be human… I can search for meaning by the search itself… the search for
meaning gives my life meaning… for it is something that is greater then myself
and it is not an empty promise… that empty promise that is so much of our modern
existence… we have been lied to so often that we have retreated into ourselves…
However if we reevaluate our values, we then give our lives meaning and that
reevaluation is no empty promise…we can give our lives meaning by the very
search we engage with to understand who we are and what are our values…
you want your life to mean something? engage in the search for
who you are and what is possible for you? the search itself will give
your life meaning…….
avoid the many empty promises of modern life… avoid the
ideology of materialism and capitalism and any other ism and ideology
that makes empty promises it cannot keep…… engage in being skeptical
about our modern world… we hear so many empty promises…
IQ45 “I am the only one who can fix what is broken”
MAGA is another empty promise
advertising is full of empty promises… buy our “car” or our “deodorant”
or our “beer” and by doing so, you can become something you are currently not
which is successful, desired, loved, the center of attention, the life of the party…
so many empty promises because are those attributes really what is important in life?
to be successful is just another empty promise and to be desired and to be the center
of attention and to be loved are all empty promises of the ads……
there is so many empty promises because we have failed to do something that is
basic for us… we no longer listen to ourselves… sometimes it doesn’t hurt
to be the lotus eater and withdraw into yourself and sometimes it’s time
to act and other times it is time to search……. sometimes it is time
to be inner driven and sometimes it is time to be outer driven…
we just need to listen to ourselves and learn to hear our inner self…
the universe is situationally driven… that there is no one absolute
factor that drives us… the situation gives is our goal and point…
our meaning is found (sometimes) situationally and sometimes
our meaning is found in the goal we desire to reach… (sometimes)
we cannot react the exact same way in different situations…
we must become situationally aware of what we do and can do……
and our meaning is found in our understanding of the situation…
as we age, we have different situations… I am old and my situation
is far different then when I was young and I must react differently
today because of this fact… I am aware of the situation and I am
reacting to my situation appropriately… if I am to find my meaning,
I must understand my current situation in life… I search for meaning
in concepts and ism’s and a engagement with who I am… I can no
longer react in some physical terms for I can no longer react physically…
I cannot climb a mountain anymore… but I can engage in the understanding
of who I am…I can find meaning… if I understand what goals are possible
and what goals are not possible… I can find meaning if I understand
my current situation…………
so what is your meaning or goal in life?
what engagement is possible for you?
what is your situation?
Kropotkin