The desire for Zin
One of the themes we all encounter in our lives is the desire for meaning. We want our lives to have meaning, to have meaning. Life has to be about something. Each of us recognizes that need for meaning. Because if our life has no meaning, our relationships are empty and our motivations hollow, then we feel pointless. Then we fiddle around in a void where nothing seems really important. Like the need for food and drink, sense is a primary human need. Unfulfilled it causes frustration and fatigue. Fulfilled, he gives life and direction.
The contemporary concept of meaning can be somewhat misleading. It gives the impression that meaning is something that we do. We are the givers or donors (in English bestowers) of sense. Just like we build houses, we would make sense. Anyone who is involved with life in this way will soon notice that it is a lot more nuanced. Meaning is not something you just make. It is not something you can buy, although we are all happy to try. However, meaning is often something that happens to you. Like happiness, it is not so much a thing in itself as a by-product of action. While walking in the forest or in contact with the other, the sense of meaning can suddenly come in. Then you feel part of a greater whole or the felt insight comes to you that you are actually very grateful for the other.
Of course, that connection with a greater whole is not the only dimension of meaning. At the University of Humanistics we work with 7 meaning needs. First of all, life must be focused on something. The feeling that you are goal-oriented makes sense. The second sense need is that it is morally justified. We need to realize that our life is "right." The third is about self-esteem and self-esteem. That you are good enough. That is also an aspect of meaning. Next is competence. That means that you are good at something. Then we add a few more, such as comprehensibility, connection and transcendence. We want the world to be understandable. We also want to be connected, preferably with a larger whole. This gives us the realization that we are not alone and are carried by more than just our selves. This also ties in with the last need for meaning: transcendence. That need focuses on the desire to transcend yourself, to literally become or feel more than you are.
Of course, it is not the case that everyone is equally busy with all aspects. But it does give the opportunity to see for yourself which aspects of meaning you rarely encounter in your life. That can be an opening to wondering what that sense domain means to you. What does self-esteem mean to you? Or comprehensibility? Or Connection? This way you can talk to yourself about what a meaningful life is for you.
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