A meaningful life is close to, but at points importantly different from, a happy life. I think we can sometimes forget this truth.
Here are some of the ingredients of a meaningful life:
love, family, work, friendship, culture, politics, nature and philosophy
Following are some excerpts from The School Of Life.
A meaningful life draws upon, and exercises, a range of our higher capacities, for example, those bound up with tenderness, care, connection, self-understanding, sympathy, intelligence and creativity.
Dots 32, Baby Blue + Peach Pattern, Tan, Teal & Salmon Pattern, 8 x 8 inches, mixed media on paper, ©2021 Suzanne Gibbs
A meaningful life aims at not so much a day-to-day contentment as it is personal fulfillment. We may be leading a meaningful life and yet, rather often, be in a bad mood (just as we may be having frequent surface fun while living, which can be at times be meaningless).
Dots 30, Salmon + Tan & Salmon Pattern, 8 x 8 inches, mixed media on paper, ©2021 Suzanne Gibbs
A meaningful life is bound up with long-term focus. Projects, relationships, interests and commitments that can build up cumulatively. Meaningful activities leave a trail and a story, even when the emotions that once propelled us into them have passed.
Dots 41, Navy Pattern + Moss, Cream & Salmon Pattern, 8 x 8 inches, mixed media on paper, ©2021 Suzanne Gibbs
And this:
Meaningful activities aren’t necessarily those we do most often. They are those we most highly value and will, from the perspective of our deaths, regret most deeply.
Looking into the end of 2022. Looking back at 2022. Looking forward to 2023 and beyond. We can make life meaningful by our choices now. We do not need to wait until we are 101 years old. Namasté