January Contemplations

Even as we ingress into another year, the threads inside my head have already started weaving cogitations. As we find ourselves tangled in the mess that is life, how can we make sense of it all? As we randomly roam through the valleys of emotions, how can we determine which rides are worth taking and which ones should we avoid? How can we find the true meaning of our life, when all we do on a daily basis is just chase one bauble after another?

Whenever I find myself lost in these thoughts, I always go back to one of my favourite books, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl. In it, Viktor narrates beautifully how meaning in life is not an abstract thing, but rather something that we can realistically pursue. He goes on to elaborate that we can find true meaning in three things; Work, Love and Courage in suffering. And in reality, I have found some semblance of truth in Viktor’s words.

I have seen couples who are deeply in love, navigate the treacherous terrains of their mundane lives together, finding comfort in the fact that no matter what happens through the day, they have someone to come back home to. Someone who loves them no matter what. Someone who will be their guiding light when they traverse the marshes of life. Someone, for whom, they will go to hell and back.

I have also seen people who find joy in the work that they do. They do not work just for the sake of earning money, like the rest of the world. They work because they enjoy it. They work because it gives them happiness. They work because they see the passion that gave them fuel in their younger years is taking the shape of a burning fire and that fire will keep them going till they are alive.

But I think these two sections of people are extremely fortunate. Finding someone who you can love selflessly, and get it in return, is not something that everyone can experience. Similarly, finding work that gives you joy, happiness and fulfilment, is not something that everyone gets to have. So if you have found any of the two, consider yourself extremely lucky.

However, for the rest of us, I think it is the “courage in suffering” that will be helpful to find true meaning in life; for suffering, in some form or the other, is a universal experience. We all go through some form of pain in life. We all have things that make our hearts ache in the middle of the night. We all undergo experiences that make our lives seem pointless. But not giving up in the face of true adversity is also one of the many admirable traits of us humans. We may have to go through tunnels of darkness and despair, but it is that will to go through those, in search of some form of light at the end of it, that is what true courage is all about. And I think, if we try, we can actually find meaning in the experience of it all.

In the end, I have to say that I am still trying to figure it all out, as I am sure a lot of us are. Life is an endless maze of emotions and experiences. It will never be easy to find the way out. But as we welcome the new year, I hope that by the year’s end, we come a little bit closer to finding what we are looking for in our lives. I hope we find that philosopher’s stone in our life that transforms random experiences into meaningful ones. I hope we all get to lead joyous and purposeful lives. And even if we do endure a lot of suffering in the process, I hope that we find the courage and the willingness to endure it all and still come out on the other side, unharmed and unwavering.
SRD.