What is Meaning?
One question that inevitably comes up in a dialog within a meaning coaching context is: “What is meaning?” Without some discussion on this topic, well, things could get very mixed up. One might ask “What is the meaning of meaning?” By this we indicate that we want some definition for the word “meaning” in the same way we might want a definition of the word “nutrition.” We expected some idea of what a speaker intended when they spoke the word. On the other hand we might seek to know what is indicated by some event as in the sentence “what does red sun at night mean?” Here we wonder what is indicated to happen in the future (“sailors delight”), by a current state (the current color of the sun).
In meaning coaching, we have a different situation. A person is looking to find or create meaning in their lives. A person might say “I do not have a meaningful life,” or “My work is meaningless.” By this they are really expressing that something is lacking in their lives. Really when I say that day to day life lacks meaning, I am saying that my life lacks any significance. We all want to feel that as we go through life, we do something of value which is significant to us. And there’s the rub. What is significant to us?
