185 Some Reminders

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

Number One of Two: If you remember, there is a timeless quality to meaning-making (I listed timelessness as a standard of measure for meaningfulness in Blog #180). To pursue meaning-making gathers an enduring, timeless harvest, Dear Reader. It clears up old business and prepares the way for more intentional living. It is never wasted time. Meaning helps one live intentionally.

Number Two of Two: There is a timeliness to meaning-making. Thus, meaning as an evanescent opportunity is an aspect of meaning-making that is absolute. One must grab it while one can, so to speak. One does not want to miss one’s opportunities.

You know the expression “make hay while the sun shines?” Well, it means that when one can, one must (seize the moment) and do. And we all know that “time waits for no man.” That phrase means there is urgency to do whatever must be done, a carpe diem sort of thing. It implies one must do what one must as soon as one can, with no delay, for things can and will move on, things can and will interfere, moments can frequently be and are lost, emerging opportunities left behind. One must get the point in a timely manner in order to benefit/exploit the usefulness of any given meaning. It’s like a note that must be played at a certain time for a symphony composition to be rendered complete—that note must be played when it is called for. Later doesn’t count.

Meaning-making is a great comfort in life, Gentle Reader. One can dramatically improve one’s life with meaning-making. Once (in response to an article saying that happiness is increased by attaching meaning to relevant objects and that the major verbs of meaning-making are derive/attach –Blog #115-116), I deliberately tried that suggestion out—meaning-making to increase happiness, that is. We had recently moved to a new home in Metro Atlanta, in a new neighborhood, and new community. I was lost and miserable.

Now, this single thing I did did not solve everything (that’s why I always tell people considering a move out of their fond community, to consider it well, because they will lose their community—a commute for community is impossible) but it did get up and functioning for me, a symbol of familiarity and a signal that I was nearing home. How? I consciously decided to let passing a certain object (a clock tower) mean I was about to enter my neighborhood and was thus near home—a very meaningful word to me.

The examples of the benefit of countless derived meanings, or meaning inherent in any given thing, are many— from the obvious to the nuanced, from the profound to the simple. In growing up, I rapidly learned that a red eye on the stove meant burn possibility and that laid-back ears on a horse meant he was mad. Not so quickly, I learned that prayer changes things. It makes them better. It always makes them better. Not so quickly, I learned that a habit is easier to make than break. Oh, the list is endless!

But enough about meaningfulness, Dear Reader, let’s move on.

To be continued . . .

184 Get My Meaning? Meaning as an Opportunity

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

Who would have thought that one little word—meaning—could involve so much, Gentle Reader?

It has taken background, definitions, method to sketch in mere rudiments. I have spent quite some time spelling out in detail how meaning-seeking contributes unique and important information in living a life, and how meaning has powerful influence in life. Mostly, I have shared how one must come to terms with the meaning in and of life, and how that can and should not be delayed or avoided.

Yes, meaning is all the above, but beyond all that, meaning-making is also a stiff challenge and, what’s more, a grand adventure, and a great opportunity with broad implications in quality of life matters. Therefore, I have also been careful to suggest some of the many implications of meaning-making in life, including confronting complexity, commitment to ardent seeking and the necessity of dedicated truth-seeking, to name a few.

And finally, I have endeavored to make clear how demanding the meaning-making process can be, how it requires scrupulous construction of and devotion to superior standards of meaning and incisive evaluation.

Hopefully, by now, you too have a greater appreciation for how prominently the pursuit of meaning has figured in my life. I have found it a road to God-granted wisdom. I even chose Meaning as my Significant Truth #2 in the box of life. I cannot imagine a life without meaning. I cannot imagine my life without meaning, and I thank God that He has made me a little champion of meaning in our time when so much is consumed in the triviality of busy, escapist lives.

The irony is that business and escapism do not add enjoyment to life, yet both oppress so many, myself included. And, in my time, I have been a cooperating victim of both. But I can assure you, Gentle Reader, it is only when one grasps and holds dear great truths that satisfaction abounds in life.

Each of us has the opportunity to choose to reach for greatness, then to define and explore greatness and to profit both self and others from the meaning we derive from our pursuit. To me, embracing meaningfulness is an opportunity for greatness beyond compare. And, God promises, if I am selective and choose my meanings wisely, I will never be disappointed in the results.

To be continued . . .

183 Reasons Why

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

I have asked myself recently, Dear Reader, why meaning so singled itself out as significant in my life. I think now it is several reasons.

One, is the definition itself: Significance not directly expressed. I did not want to miss anything significant.

Simple enough.

Life has always been a feast of impressions and sensations for me, no detail too small. But that said, I frequently “missed the point” on many important things. Right over the head it went. And as I grew increasingly conscious of gaps in my perceptions—my thinking and doing—I grew increasingly focused on addressing those gaps. Yet, simple as the solution seemed, it was not.

Therefore number two, Dear Reader, I have spent a lifetime trying to meaningfully fill in those gaps.

And I still am in patch mode.

Thankfully, once I turned the process over to Jesus, to accomplish it for me, the pace of the job dramatically accelerated and the result, in terms of inner relief from the responsibility to get every meaning on my own, is miraculous.

And the results of Jesus’ craft in my thinking, my understanding, my life are simply splendid.

Bursts of unfamiliar sensations of comprehension, and moments of warm and sympathetic understanding of and insight into the concerns of others, add great color and energy to my acts of daily living. It’s sensational—great rewards, among many, for investing in Jesus—and I would heartily recommend Jesus as the solution to one and all. Such a relationship would be a profitable joy for you. It certainly is for me.

To be continued . . .

182 Final Thoughts

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

Meaning has many properties, Gentle Reader.

Collectively, I have come to see that meanings emerge and prosper as one does the seeking.

Ultimately, I have come to see that meaning in life means coming to terms with life and its purpose.

Most profitably, I have seen that purpose in life means making meaning a priority for living.

Right purpose in life means assuming responsibility to seek right meaning. It involves acknowledging that meaning-making is a path to wisdom. It means intentionality in living that sets the course of one’s life, expectations and choices.

To be a meaning maker is a choice, Gentle Reader, and at its best, one’s choices must be active, ongoing and right.

Consummate right choice means giving our future to God and living life as it comes, in relationship with Him.

Undoubtedly, for me, there is no separating the significant truths of God and Meaning.

In another vein, as in every era, we live in a time of mixed meanings, some promoted by worldly ideologies and some by people of faith in the Judeo-Christian God. And though diverse and, as yet, imperfect in its promotion of meaning, this Judeo-Christian faith has consistently worked wonders over the centuries, wonders of goodness and abundance to humankind. The same cannot be said of perishable worldly ideologies.

As mixed in meaning as the world is today, Gentle Reader, it is also confused with mixed responses to meaning. Even the believer in the Judeo-Christian Way is subject to struggle and suffering in sorting out his own (and that of others) mixed thinking, all as a result of worldly influence.

Thus Scripture adjures believers to be “in the world but not of it,” meaning to practice clarity in thinking and discernment in choice even as one moves through a confusing world. On a daily basis this is not an easy feat. One must practice awareness and that intentionality I mentioned above. Conscious living—it’s not a cinch. Habits emerge over time in life, Attentive Reader, and bad habits are so easy to make and good ones to the contrary.

At any rate, in my aerobics class, the teacher has taught us to think “stabilize to mobilize.” That means that our posture is to be anchored in the stomach muscles while lifting our chest, dropping our shoulders and chin, prior to motion. She confided that as one ages we all tend to curl in our posture—the result of lacking a good habit. I find this particularly relevant advice, this stabilize to mobilize, but not only for my posture. I now have generalized the phrase to my thinking, tweaking the phrase to—stabilize in Christ Jesus to mobilize in life. In taking her advice, I have also taken it a step further, finding larger significance in her words and greater application.

This was my choice as a meaning-maker.

Now, every time I think of the modified phrase (stabilize in Christ to mobilize in life), it reminds me to employ this approach in my thinking and doing, demonstrating good and right choice making. In short, dear Reader, as Scripture advises, I am embarked on the road of making walking with Jesus my habit. I am embarked upon putting a check on myself, making in my person less of me and more of Christ in me--His character, conscience and conduct--, simultaneously benefitting myself and others.

Stabilize in Christ Jesus to mobilize in life—hmmm, to my way of thinking, this is a perfect example of the power of choice, of right choice, of meaningful choice and of right meaning-making.

To be continued. . .