The Search for Meaning

Posted on by tahlia42

Although we are never given a manual for how to live our lives, there are a few mile posts out there that “they” believe we should do, thereby giving us access to the “grown up” club.   Many were obviously not for me, and I am glad I skipped them.   Still, I’ve put in my time to check off a fair number of items from the list over the course of my life: I went to college; I own my own home; I’m in a committed relationship; and I’ve been fortunate enough to be in my current job for five years.  Yet I’m left with a feeling of, “Is this all?”.

I’m finding myself at this crossroads as I suddenly have a great deal of free time. This is something unheard of for me up until this year when an injury put a hasty end to my former passion.  Rather than having each day blend into the next, I want to DO something.  But what?  My life could go in any direction.

I end up in these situations every few years.  I’ve handled them differently each time:

  • Detour sign on a dirt road5 years ago I switched careers to my current job with a company that I love
  • 5 years before that, I up and moved to England on a tourist visa with the intent to start my life over there.

I don’t know that I want something as drastic as that now, yet I crave direction … and purpose! I feel like Tom Hank’s character at the end of Cast Away where he is literally standing at a crossroads.  While it is liberating to know I could do anything, the fact that I could do anything is daunting.  There are so many choices.  How do I decide?

I’m starting this blog because I know that I can’t be alone in wondering “now what?”.  Anyone else feeling a little lost and ungrounded?  Anyone been at this point, made a choice, and now is happily on the other side of the abyss?

Published by tahlia42

22 thoughts on “The Search for Meaning”

  2. Lost, bewildered, but kinda excited at the prospect of starting over. What to do next, I don’t know but I am going to have fun finding out 😀 Heather

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  3. Could you be preparing for a new growth cycle in your life? If so, how exciting!
    Whenever i feel like that I like to go out in nature and tune in. I’ve learned to trust that the answers I’m seeking will be revealed to me as soon as the time is right.

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    1. Thank you, Evelyn, for your insight. It’s quite timely: I’ve started hiking again. Maybe that is what has been drawing me to it.

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  5. The universe communicates with us through whispering winds of change… wise are we who hear its song with open hearts and curious minds and embrace new journeys toward interconnectedness of mind-body-soul-life energies that yearn for cosmic conciousness and living fully present in the moment, where love flows strongest and most resplendently… leading us to our destiny.

    Believe in yourself, trust yourself, listen to yourself… and free yourself to soar far and wide wherever your winds may take you. The cosmos of endless possibilities is at your fingertips…

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  6. It is a wonderful thing to have time. When I dream of a time when I have more free time, I dream of volunteering at a local hospital to rock the babies or doing something that just needs doing in this world. Perhaps this is a great opportunity to turn outward.

    Congrats on the blog!

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    1. Maria, I can’t believe how much you are able to get done in a day! I have been looking into find a good volunteering fit for me. I want to volunteer well – something that resonates with who I am. The search continues.

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  7. Search for the joy. That special something and gets you out of bed in the morning.
    How lucky to have so many different selves in one life-time.

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  8. I loved the Tom Hanks movie ‘Cast Away’. I find the ending so sad, though. What I got from the ending was not that he now had all these choices. What I took away, was that after all that time spent as a Cast Away, when he finally got home he was just cast away. In many ways his life was the same as it was on that island. An Island of one. A double meaning to the films title. I find that very sad…

    I have also been very surprised that of the several discussions I’ve had about this film, no one ever got the full meaning of the films title.

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  9. Sorry for the downer. But I always have those thoughts when the movie Cast Away is mentioned.

    I agree with your movie choices, though. Maybe not the actual movies, but that so many of mine are inspiring, sometimes romantic, life affirming, well made films, that evoke a strong emotion.

    I’m not sure what my top 10 or 5 would be, but I know these films would be on that list:
    The Natural
    A Field of Dreams
    My Man Godfrey
    The Talk of the Town
    Everyone of these films I’ve watch multiple times, and I will surely watch many more.

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  11. Hi Tammy,

    I am new here.

    Yap, I was at a cross road just like you a couple of years back. After 15 years as a teacher, I wondered what the hell was I doing. It took some financial crisis to set me thinking and searching. Now I believe I am clearer as to what my true purpose it. Finding it can be tricky, but there clues to confirm if what you want is true or not. I wrote about this on my very first post. If you do, check it out under the purpose category.

    Cheers

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    1. Jimmy,

      Thank you so much for your comments and sharing your story! I have been amazed at how many people find themselves in this same position!

      I’m a firm believer that a lifetime is full of different purposes. That has really taken the stress off me. I don’t need to figure out what I want to be for the rest of my life. I only need to figure out what is next.

      I checked out your blog and added your RSS feed. What a great site you have! Thanks for stopping by.

      Tammy

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