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"This wise, stirring book argues that the search for meaning can immeasurably deepen our lives and is far more fulfilling than the pursuit of personal happiness. There is a myth in our culture that the search for meaning is some esoteric pursuit--that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to figure out life's great secret. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us--right here, right now. Drawing on the latest research in positive psychology; on insights from George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, the Buddha, and other great minds; and on interviews with seekers of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith lays out the four pillars upon which meaning rests. Belonging: We all need to find our tribe and forge relationships in which we feel understood, recognized, and valued--to know we matter to others. Purpose: We all need a far-reaching goal that motivates us, serves as the organizing principle of our lives, and drives us to make a contribution to the world. Storytelling: We are all storytellers, taking our disparate experiences and assembling them into a coherent narrative that allows us to make sense of ourselves and the world. Transcendence: During a transcendent or mystical experience, we feel we have risen above the everyday world and are connected to something vast and meaningful. To bring those concepts to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of untimely loss, and more. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture of meaning in our schools, our workplaces, and our communities. Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a richer, more satisfying life"--… (más)
The Power of Meaning * crafting a life that matters. The author has provided the reader a thoughtfully crafted journey into power and meaning in life’s journey. This book is well researched and includes types of meaning that you would not think would be included under the same cover. The author identifies four pillars used to construct meaning in religions and other systems as approaches to discover meaning. They include belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence. The author takes you to many places through examples with each pillar, and they are progressively engaging. Again, I appreciate this thoughtful work. There is one story that describes connection and understanding why connection is important to others even at the point of death. Another story highlights how we deal with suffering can help others along with our personal being. Another commemorates those who keep the world moving and shares how their daily, thankless, actions are so important to build a legacy for others. Another theme of this work is legacy, and how the many forms of love fuel our definitions of meaning as we connect with something beyond ourselves (including nature). The author quotes Will Durant, “ a meaning that cannot be annulled by death.” This quote contains spiritual significance and points to religious themes of death and transcendence. Whether the reader uses the pillars with religious or secular systems they will be reminded of the basic tenants of their preferred doctrine. The author presented these profound concepts into an enjoyable read. I received a preview copy of this book as part of the Library Thing early reviewers giveaway. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been selected to read this book and to share this Library Thing review. ( )
I found this book interesting, and useful in helping to identify a meaningful framework for living your best life. There were too many stories and anecdotes for my taste, but overall a good self help book to have on the shelf. ( )
The overall message of the book can be summed up in this sentence from the introduction: "As three scholars put it, “The more directly one aims to maximize pleasure and avoid pain, the more likely one is to produce instead a life bereft of depth, meaning, and community.” But those who choose to pursue meaning ultimately live fuller—and happier—lives."
The rest of the book is an outline of her thoughts about what constitutes meaning, and lots and lots of anecdotes to fill the space.
It felt a little bit like an expanded TED Talk, and you could probably get more value from reading the books she recommends at the end of the kindle version, especially Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. ( )
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
What is the meaning of life? That was all - a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years. The great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one. -Virginia Woolf
Dedicatoria
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
To my parents, Tim and Fataneh, and brother, Tristan, affectionately known as T-bear, doostetoon daram
Primeras palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
On Thursday and Sunday evenings, a group of seekers gathered in a large room of my family's brownstone in downtown Montreal, where my parents ran a Sufi meetinghouse.
Citas
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
When people explain what makes their lives meaningful, they describe connecting to and bonding with other people in positive ways. They discuss finding something worthwhile to do with their time. They mention creating narrative that help them understands themselves and the world. They talk about mystical experiences of self-loss. (p. 40)
… the four pillars of meaning: Belonging, Purpose, Storytelling, and Transcendence. (p. 41)
We can find belonging at work and within our families, or experience transcendence while talking a walk through the park or visiting an art museum. We can choose a career that helps us serve others, or draft our life story to understand how we got to be the way we are. We may move … change jobs, and lose touch with friends as the years go by, but we can continue to find meaning by harnessing the pillars in new ways in our new circumstances. And when we keep the pillars in mind, we find meaning in even the most unexpected of places … (p. 42)
Each of us has a circle of people – in our families, in our communities, and at work – whose lives we can improve. That’s a legacy everyone can leave behind. (p. 96)
… we may follow one path, then abandon it for another. Storytelling is how we make sense of that act. By taking the disparate pieces of our lives and placing them together into a narrative, we create a unified whole that allows us to understand our lives as coherent – and coherence, psychologists say, is a key source of meaning. (p. 104)
“I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers.” That truth, he [Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor, Man’s Search for Meaning] writes, was “that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.”
“Being human,” Frankl wrote, “always points, and is directed, to something, or someone, other than oneself – be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself – by giving himself to a cause or to serve or another person to love – the more human he is.”
Últimas palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
These may be humble acts on their own. But taken together they light up the world.
"This wise, stirring book argues that the search for meaning can immeasurably deepen our lives and is far more fulfilling than the pursuit of personal happiness. There is a myth in our culture that the search for meaning is some esoteric pursuit--that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to figure out life's great secret. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us--right here, right now. Drawing on the latest research in positive psychology; on insights from George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, the Buddha, and other great minds; and on interviews with seekers of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith lays out the four pillars upon which meaning rests. Belonging: We all need to find our tribe and forge relationships in which we feel understood, recognized, and valued--to know we matter to others. Purpose: We all need a far-reaching goal that motivates us, serves as the organizing principle of our lives, and drives us to make a contribution to the world. Storytelling: We are all storytellers, taking our disparate experiences and assembling them into a coherent narrative that allows us to make sense of ourselves and the world. Transcendence: During a transcendent or mystical experience, we feel we have risen above the everyday world and are connected to something vast and meaningful. To bring those concepts to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of untimely loss, and more. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture of meaning in our schools, our workplaces, and our communities. Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a richer, more satisfying life"--
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The author has provided the reader a thoughtfully crafted journey into power and meaning in life’s journey. This book is well researched and includes types of meaning that you would not think would be included under the same cover. The author identifies four pillars used to construct meaning in religions and other systems as approaches to discover meaning. They include belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence. The author takes you to many places through examples with each pillar, and they are progressively engaging. Again, I appreciate this thoughtful work.
There is one story that describes connection and understanding why connection is important to others even at the point of death. Another story highlights how we deal with suffering can help others along with our personal being. Another commemorates those who keep the world moving and shares how their daily, thankless, actions are so important to build a legacy for others.
Another theme of this work is legacy, and how the many forms of love fuel our definitions of meaning as we connect with something beyond ourselves (including nature). The author quotes Will Durant, “ a meaning that cannot be annulled by death.” This quote contains spiritual significance and points to religious themes of death and transcendence. Whether the reader uses the pillars with religious or secular systems they will be reminded of the basic tenants of their preferred doctrine. The author presented these profound concepts into an enjoyable read.
I received a preview copy of this book as part of the Library Thing early reviewers giveaway. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been selected to read this book and to share this Library Thing review. (