Meaning

Purpose and meaning are what we desire and if we lose them we become rudderless. We chase meaning through career, through helping others, through spirituality, through our parenting and perhaps through connections with friends and family. However, currently we are in a more difficult global environment which has touched upon all of those aforementioned sources of purpose in adverse ways.

As society has become more splintered and less reliant on community spirit we are seeing less satisfaction drawn from these traditional pillars. We could blame technology and to be sure social media has done more harm than good in contributing towards the detriment of overall wellness of society. Knowing too much about others has perhaps led to disillusionment and I quickly grew tired of its insipid superficiality and left it behind.

That I cannot put my finger entirely on the malaise, I nevertheless feel it hinges greatly on the fact that when lives were slower due to our technological limitations, we seemed somehow to be more content. I know that by adopting a more minimalist approach in retirement it has brought me more relief. Having no car, getting rid of excess clothing and clutter is acting like a mental cleanser.

We need a collective sigh and a pause.