Meaning is central to what I do

I’ve been thinking more about legacy after listening to an inspiring talk a couple of weeks back.

I’m always trying to group the things I do together under one banner. This is doomed to fail on some level, but the term that kept coming up was meaning.

I help people find purpose on a personal level through coaching, help them develop emotional coherence through bodywork, and offer meaning in the bigger picture through my writings.

Why is this important, over environmental or political engagement? Lack of meaning correlates strongly with our most prevalent mental health conditions.¹ And despite the affluence of the third millennium, more and more people are reporting that they find little meaning in life.

People who lack meaning care less about where they live and the people they share it with. They promote self-interest and the imposition of will above other values. Why not, if it doesn’t mean anything?

Nihilism and relativism are, in their isolated forms, the enemy of meaning. They are very popular, whether as a belief that we’re all just parts of one whole or the idea that the planet would be better off without us.

To focus on meaning is to work at a level upstream of happiness and attainment. It’s to recognise that a scarcity of meaning harms us more than anything else, and that without meaning, people are reluctant to change their minds.

This doesn’t mean that tackling meaning has no social impact. In fact, I will argue that the best way to push back against a shallow, materialist culture is by helping people realise a radical depth in themselves.

So, I help people find meaning through better ways of being, seeing and thinking.