“What do you think the meaning of life is?”
Have you ever gotten that question? Ever sat down with a glass of wine and pondered over it? Has it ever kept you up at night? Made you stressed and insecure about your whole existence?
If the answer is no, then good for you! Kudos, high five and a happy dance from me to you!
If the answer is yes, then I know how you feel! I used to be there. I used to stress and worry. At times I had trouble sleeping because of all the big questions that were just too massive for my brain to process.
And yes, you read that right, I said I used to.
Do I worry about things? Oh yes, from time to time. I don’t think I’d be much of a human if I didn’t.
Do I worry about the meaning of life though? Absolutely not!
A couple of years ago, and I can’t for the life of me remember who asked me, but someone did ask me about what I thought was the meaning of life. Whenever I got that question I would usually just shrug and tell the person that I had no idea. For some reason though, I wasn’t able to shrug it off that time around. It stuck with me for days, and then suddenly, when I was out for a walk, these words came to me:
The important thing is not to find the meaning of life, but to find what it is that gives your life meaning.
It came to me then and has never left me since. And with those words came a profound sense of relief. A way of thinking that I had no idea that I actually needed, but has helped me so much in finding my way to the life that I live today.
So many of us just settle for everyone else’s ideas of what our lives should be, and don’t even consider the idea of our dreams becoming a reality.
What gives your life meaning? Have you asked yourself that lately? If you haven’t, then I think it’s time you should! Sit down and have a quiet moment with yourself, ask the question, and really think about it. And if the things that give your life meaning aren’t something you’re doing on a regular basis, then I would highly suggest that you consider adding some changes to your life!
Why on earth would you waste the precious little time that you have on things that don’t matter? Do you value your time that little? And no, I’m not saying you should drop everything, quit your day job and hope for the best, unless you really want to and dare to. I wish I could. I wish I could afford to take that leap, but I can’t. Instead, I’ve made a very conscious choice when it comes to how I live my life. I constantly ask myself if the things that I’m spending the most amount of time on are the ones that give my life meaning. If the answer is no, then I look for ways to minimize those tasks. If the answer is yes, then I look for ways to be able to do more of them.
Even if it’s just adding a few minutes more of doing that which gives you meaning every day, that’s a way of starting to move in the right direction! We all have to start somewhere, right?
The important thing is not to find the meaning of life, but to find what it is that gives your life meaning!
Make that list (either an actual one or a mental one) and then remind yourself of your answers every day. And if something on it doesn’t give your life meaning anymore, then remove it! It’s your list, so who the hell is gonna tell you not to?
It’s your life, and it’s so precious and unpredictable. So with that in mind, can I just ask one thing of you? This one is important:
Please, don’t waste it ❤️
Christina de Vries 