Category: Meaning

How Do We Show People They Matter?

It is all too easy to think that what you do in life doesn’t really matter. After all, when you are just one person out of 8 billion, that seems pretty insignificant.

Moreover, the picture gets even more narrow if we expand the scope. Reading history, there are only a few people who have shaped the course of human history. Of all the people who have ever lived, we only know the names of a precious few. Those few have led armies, made breakthroughs, or influenced millions.

But the vast majority of people just live their lives. They are content making their small contribution to the greater whole. But do their lives matter?

This raises an important point: what does it mean for a life to matter? In order for a life to have meaning, what needs to happen?

Meaning doesn’t just come from changing the world. You don’t need to be an Alexander the Great or an Albert Einstein to be important. You just need to have an impact on the people around you — your family, your friends, your coworkers, and so on.

That’s the lesson of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, that even when you feel that your life doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme, the world would be a different place if you didn’t exist. You can’t help but matter, because your very existence has changed the world.

So how can we convey that to others? How can we tell people around us that they mean something? Something to us, something to their community? How can we show people they matter?

Related questions: How could you show your appreciation for others more? How does your identity matter? How much power does an individual have? What gives a person value?

Do Dreams Have Meaning?

Sometimes, dreams that we have while we sleep can seem like a random collection of ideas. But do they actually have an underlying meaning?

Entire books have been written about dream interpretation. Figuring out what a dream means can be more art than science. Making sense of something that at times might appear nonsensical takes some effort.

Of course, there are times when it is not that difficult. Some dreams are straightforward. If you have a dream about, say, needing to go to the bathroom, you will probably wake up to find you need to go to the bathroom.

But other dreams are less clear. Fantastical, impossible things often happen. Laws of physics are routinely violated. Time does not always flow linearly. Things that shouldn’t be frequently are. What to make of them?

A problem that arises is that no one knows why we dream in the first place. One popular theory is that dreams are the way our brain processes the events that happen to us during the day. Our short-term memories are transitioned, perhaps, into long-term ones. Or maybe we just relive the mental pathways that have recently been created. Watching a scary movie will give you nightmares, for example.

There is also a perception that eating rich, heavy foods will lead to extreme flights of nighttime fancy, particularly if we eat close to bedtime. It may or may not be true, but enough people do both things — eat big meals and subsequently have crazy dreams — that they seem connected.

So which is it? A way for our brains to make sense of the events of the day? A response to physical stimuli? Our subconscious trying to communicate ideas we aren’t ready to think about? A random assortment of ideas and thoughts?

Do dreams have meaning?

Related questions: Why do we sleep? Dreams: Color or black and white? Do you have trouble sleeping?

 

 

Is Your Sense Of Self Tied To Your Job?

For some people, their choice of occupation is crucial to their identity. This is not surprising, since the average person spends around a third of their life at a job.

In some ways, it makes sense that a job is so important. After all, anything you spend so much time doing is automatically important. With the possible exception of your immediate family, your co-workers may very well be the people you spend the most time with.

Moreover, you might be talking about your job often.

If you meet a stranger, one of the first questions you ask each other might be, “What do you do?” The answer helps the two of you determine how much you have in common and might influence your subsequent conversation.

Similarly, respective jobs are frequently the topic of conversation among spouses or romantic partners. After all, if you care for someone, you want to know how they spend their time, and how other people might treat them.

So a job is important. But is it healthy to base your identity on it?

After all, different people have different reasons for working. Some might work just to pay their mortgage, while others might be trying to make the world a better place. As the saying goes: some work to live; others live to work. Are both types of people defined by the job they do?

And if you lose that job, through no fault of your own, do you cease to have an identity in much the same way that you might lose your health insurance?

In your case, does your job impact your sense of self? If so, should it?

Related questions: Who are you? What do you like most about your job? What are ways to achieve work-life balance? How does your personal life influence your work life?

Do The Ends Justify The Means?

When you are trying to achieve something notable, is it acceptable to follow questionable methods so long as you get to a good place? Do the ends justify the means?

When you are striving to achieve a moral end, it is tempting to use any means to get there. It is particularly true if there is some obstacle in the way that is preventing you from succeeding. “If I can just make it happen,” your inner voice might say, “I know the good that will come from it.”

If you think in a strictly transactional sense, this might well be true. Let’s say you have to do a slightly bad thing to reach a goal that makes a significant positive impact. In this scenario, the good that results is much more impactful than the bad that happened along the way.

As the saying goes, though, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If you follow the above reasoning, it might well be possible to justify any action, no matter how vile, by expecting an even greater good to result. If that good never ultimately materializes, then what?

A different popular saying illustrates the difference: “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.” The omelette — the positive that comes out at the end — is worth whatever rules must be “broken” along the way.

Occasionally you might well be forced to act in ways that an earlier you might find unacceptable. As you get older and more experienced, you might well take a more nuanced approach. Or is that just a way to justify bad actions? Do the ends justify the means?

Related questions: How do we know we are right? Are religion and morality linked? What makes an action evil? When should you not follow the law?

Is There A Conversation You’ll Never Forget?

Have you ever participated in a conversation that immediately seared itself into your memory? Has a talk you’ve had ever been that impactful?

Conversation is the primary way we humans communicate with each other. While some conversations may be routine or trivial, others can be profound or even life-changing.

For instance, think of the discussions you have had while falling in love. That might eventually lead to making room for someone else in your life. It might even result in marriage and possibly starting a family. While there are other ways to express love, talking is something we all engage in all the time.

Can you think of conversations that you have had that have stayed with you long after? Have you had discussions that have changed your life? What, if anything, can you identify as a commonality in these meaningful interactions?

Related questions: How can we encourage meaningful conversation? What makes something memorable? Where do shared ideas exist? How can we maintain wonder? How can we become better listeners?