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 . . .