Finding Meaning In Life Requires Peace And Patience

You will not always find meaning in life by falling in love or following a passion… just as it comes, it can also go. What will really help you value all the treasures around you is  a calm heart and inner peace.

One thing many philosophers and some specialized psychologists (especially speech therapists) say is that it is very difficult to find your purpose when you are so immersed in your culture. You get so much stimulation from so many places at once that it becomes difficult to filter everything. It makes it difficult to make your own voice – the sound of your true self.

Adam Stelztner is a  NASA scientist  who designed the Curiosity robot, which successfully landed on Mars. He said that in his younger days he could never have imagined that he would dedicate his life to such a project. He actually wanted to be a rock singer. He had his own band, played concerts and was not even interested in studying at college as his friends.

But everything changed one night. He went home alone from band rehearsals, and the sky could not have been clearer. That was when he looked up and the stars completely mesmerized him. More specifically, it was Orion’s belt. There he was, a man who used sound, music and loud noises,  but who suddenly found meaning in life through silence.

A few months later, he began studying at college to become a physicist. His adventure had just begun…

There are times when you clearly feel like  a leaf floating in the current. You barely have time to enjoy the things around you. You do not let the light breeze lift you even for a second to get a better picture of everything that surrounds you. It can be things that make you excited, scared or even indifferent.

Our culture and education push us towards things that captivate us: our habits. Some of us have even become addicts who demand immediate gratification and short-lived pleasures. We want everything but at the same time feel empty. We want to be unique and special, but at the same time erase what makes us who we are.

It is not easy to find meaning in life in the midst of this thoughtless and unsatisfactory way of life. So it is worth mentioning what Friedrich Nietzsche said about this problem: to find meaning in life, you must be able to  see, think and speak calmly.

In  Idolatry  , Nietzsche talks about how every educator should have a goal: to lay the foundation for what he calls “aristocratic culture. But he did not talk about the upper class. He wanted to give the younger generations a more refined, stricter way of thinking. He wanted everyone to turn their lives into  true works of art.

He recommended three very specific aspects that educators should focus on:

• To learn to see what is around one  in an unstressed way, without letting go. At least not before watching.
• To learn to speak and write in the same way. If you get your eyes used to looking at things calmly, you must also do so with your writing and your speech: calmly and from the heart.
• Not to act in pure instinct:  to do so, you must be a balanced and, above all, careful thinker.

Everyone who integrates these abilities into the fibers of his being, everyone who manages to see, think and speak calmly and patiently, will find meaning in life sooner or later. It is the thing that will define them, the thing that will be in line with the best in their personality.

You do not have to go to Tibet to find meaning in life. You do not have to travel around the Earth with a backpack and hiking boots. Yes, you will gain a lot of experience, that’s one thing for sure; but you will  probably not get the answers  you need.

The Japanese poet Hakuin said in the 12th century that when one does not know where the truth lies, one will make the mistake of looking for it as far away as possible. But the fact is that you can find the secret to all your doubts  within yourself.

That’s why you do not have to wear out the soles of your shoes to find meaning in life. It’s just about making a mental space where you can reflect. How? These points can help.

• Slow down.
• Make a list of what are priorities in life  and what are not. You can also make a list of things that make you feel good and things that make you upset. Clear out the spaces in your life.
• Spend more time on yourself. Look for moments during the day when you can be calm and quiet.
• Get back your ability to marvel. Be the person who lets himself look at the stars at night. Let yourself appreciate the unusual things that happen in your city – the hidden magic of your daily life.
• Be aware of the things that give you joy, the  things that make you feel good and that inspire your curiosity. Because that’s where you’ll find the things that make sense to you, the things that define you.

In conclusion, we want to point out that our life goals usually change as we go through life. This is perfectly normal and probably just as good, because it means  you are on the move. This means that you grow and reach new heights, find new things and create new goals.

In the end, life means being on the move. And if you know how to listen to your inner voice with the calm it deserves,  you will always find the answers you need.