The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness

by Emily Esfahani Smith

In a culture obsessed with happiness, this wise, stirring book points the way toward a richer, more satisfying life.Too many of us believe that the search for meaning is an esoteric pursuit—that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to discover life’s secrets. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us—right here, right now.To explore how we can craft lives of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith synthesizes a kaleidoscopic array of sources—from psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists to figures in literature and history such as George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, and the Buddha. Drawing on this research, Smith shows us how cultivating connections to others, identifying and working toward a purpose, telling stories about our place in the world, and seeking out mystery can immeasurably deepen our lives.To bring what she calls the four pillars of meaning to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village in the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of profound loss, and more. She also introduces us to compelling seekers of meaning—from the drug kingpin who finds his purpose in helping people get fit to the artist who draws on her Hindu upbringing to create arresting photographs. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture that leaves space for introspection and awe, cultivates a sense of community, and imbues our lives with meaning.Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a life that matters.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Philosophy, Personal Development, Spirituality, Personal Growth

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2017

About the author

Emily Esfahani Smith is a journalist and the author of The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed With Happiness (Crown). In this book, Smith argues that the unending pursuit of happiness has distracted us from what really matters—the search for meaning in life. Smith draws on psychology, philosophy and literature—as well as her own reporting—to write about the human experience. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Criterion, and other publications.

She is also an editor at the Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where she advises the Ben Franklin Circles project, a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y and Citizen University to build civic engagement in local communities. If you're interested in joining or starting one, please reach out to Smith here.
http://emilyesfahanismith.com/contact/

Smith was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and grew up in Montreal, Canada. She now lives in Washington DC with her husband. A graduate of Dartmouth College, she earned a master of applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

For speaking engagements, she is exclusively represented by The Lavin Agency. Please visit her speaking page here for bio, topics, and videos. You may contact Charles Yao, Director of Intellectual Talent at Lavin, for more information, at cyao@thelavinagency.com.

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a scattered collection of findings from population studies and various psychological and sociological studies related to human perceptions of meaning, fulfillment, happiness, and belongingness. These results of studies are intermingled with various examples of actions or training some people have used to move toward obtaining a sense of meaning in their lives.

One point the book makes early on is that happiness and meaning are not the same thing. As a matter of fact it appears that the two are inversely proportional to each other is some ways. This is pointed out in population studies by the relationship between reported rates of happiness and suicide. "Happy populations" have higher rates of suicide as pointed out by the following excerpt.

People in wealthier regions, like Scandinavia, reported being happier than those in poorer ones, like sub-Saharan Africa. But when it came to meaning, it was a different story. Wealthy places like France and Hong Kong had some of the lowest levels of meaning, while the poor nations of Togo and Niger had among the highest, even though people living there were some of the unhappiest in the study. One of the most disturbing findings involved suicide rates. Wealthier nations, it turns out, had significantly higher suicide rates than poorer ones. For example, the suicide rate of Japan, where per-capita GDP was $34,000, was more than twice as high as that of Sierra Leone, where per-capita GDP was $400. This trend, on its face, didn’t seem to make sense. People in wealthier countries tend to be happier, and their living conditions are practically heavenly compared with places like Sierra Leone, which is racked by endemic disease, dire poverty, and the legacy of a devastating civil war. So what reason would they have to kill themselves?

The strange relationship between happiness and suicide has been confirmed in other research, too. Happy countries like Denmark and Finland also have some high rates of suicide. Some social scientists believe that this is because it is particularly distressing to be unhappy in a country where so many others are happy—while others suggest that the happiness levels of these countries are being inflated because the unhappiest people are taking themselves out of the population.

But Oishi and Diener’s study suggests another explanation. When they crunched the numbers, they discovered a striking trend: happiness and unhappiness did not predict suicide. The variable that did, they found, was meaning—or, more precisely, the lack of it. The countries with the lowest rates of meaning, like Japan, also had some of the highest suicide rates.

OK, so the answer is meaning, but what is it and how can a person acquire it? The author asserts that there are "four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence." The book devotes a chapter to each of this "pillars" plus chapters on Growth, Cultures of Meaning, and Conclusion.

I was particularly interested in the book's discussion of the variety of ways that people respond to trauma. Some children defy their disadvantaged environments while many others are victimized by it. Some adults come through trauma emotionally stronger while others succumb to PTSD. What's the difference?

This book suggests that it's not necessarily the actual trauma that causes changes. It is how people interpret the trauma that matters. People who respond positively to trauma spend more time in "deliberate rumination," or introspection. They spend a lot of time trying to make sense of their painful experience, reflecting on how the event changed them. Doing so helped them make the life changes associate with "post-traumatic growth." One of the ways explored in this book to jump start this process of deliberate rumination is through writing about feelings related to the trauma.

Another correlation noted by the book is that people who said they had experienced a major trauma in their childhood but had kept it a secret were significantly more likely to report health problems as adults than those who had spoken to others about the experience. Researchers have followed up by checking if people are encouraged to open up about trauma events, will it improve their health? Indeed, test results have confirmed this to be the case. It is suggested that the writing exercise made these improvements by, (1) Probing into the causes and consequences thus becoming wiser about it, (2) Their perspective changed from me to why the other party did what they did, and (3) They were able to find a positive meaning in their traumatic experience.

Some of the characteristics of children who have shown the resilience to overcome childhood trauma include purpose (often shown as feelings of altruism), social support, transcendent sources of meaning, and genetic predisposition. Fortunately, researchers have demonstrated that characteristics of resilience can be taught to those without the genetic predisposition.

This book's discussion of finding meaning in life is a worthwhile read and can provide suggestions for the reader. However, finding meaning is a personal endeavor to be wrestled with on an individual basis. The reader needs to pick and chose those things that make sense to them.

[Vikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that can change the way you look at life and change your life if you let it. Ever wonder why some of the richest/first world countries are rated the "happiest" countries but have the highest suicide rates as compared to some of the poorest/third world countries? Meaning. People in poorer countries see their lives as more meaningful even if they have to work harder and suffer more. Having focus on other people versus yourself (like in individualistic -centered societies) has made people feel like their lives are more meaningful. Just because your life is easier and you do not have to worry about day to day survival doesn't always mean you see a purpose or meaning to life. There are studies and research throughout this book as well as stories to illustrate the point of having a meaningful life versus a happy life. It gives you ideas and inspires you to make your life more meaningful as well.

This book took me a long time to read for such a short book but I was constantly looking things up or just thinking about what I read that I felt that it was well worth the read. I will definitely be rereading this book for ideas and inspiration.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

I received an advanced copy of this book from a NetGalley for review consideration.

[Melora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing revolutionary here, but, then, as the author reminds us with an early reference to The Epic of Gilgamesh, people have been writing about what makes for a meaningful life for thousands of years. Still, Smith does do a really nice job of pulling together ideas, poetry, and research on the topic from around the world and through history, organizing her book around the idea of “four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence.” This structure allows for coherence while allowing her to range through various fields – sociology, psychology, theology, metaphysics, biology – and to gather information and anecdote, story and song, in an exploration of the ways that philosophers, poets, scientists, soldiers, and many, many others have weighed in on the question of what makes a life worth living. In each section, a source of meaning is examined from various angles through recent or current sociological/psychological studies which she describes, telling the stories of participants and of how the “pillar” allowed them to find meaning in their lives. Smith is a fine and engaging storyteller, relating the stories of the individuals involved with compassion and respect, and the insights she offers, if familiar, are persuasive and often inspiring. By pointing out the ways in which the woes of many individuals in modern society – loneliness, depression, aimlessness, etc. – may stem from a lack of purpose, Smith reminds readers of the centrality of this need, and by focusing on realistic ways in which ordinary people find meaning in their lives her book can fairly be said to help readers in, as the title claims, “Crafting a Life that Matters.”

I received this book from LibraryThing through their Early Reviewers program with the understanding that the content of my review would not affect my likelihood of receiving books through the program in the future. Many thanks to Crown Publishers, Emily Esfahani Smith, and LibraryThing! 

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but unnecessary. The best parts are book reports of better stuff. Much of the rest is composed of anecdotes and descriptions of small psych experiments. A common theme throughout is people hitting bottom (jail, end of life, drugs, etc.) and then deciding to maybe look for a different path. For people who aren't already at bottom, this isn't a very productive roadmap.

Most people I think would be better served reading the original wisdom books she refers to:
Man's Search for Meaning; The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays; The Little Prince.


Nerd addendum:
The "science" cited is mostly of the pop psychology variety (Dweck, Haidt, etc.) and when one looks for something a little more solid, things get sketchy. For example, she makes a big deal about storytelling and on p.111 writes that "A review of the scientific literature finds that this form of therapy is as effective as ... cognitive behavioral therapy." That sounds very impressive. However the article she cites for this is a review of reviews regarding psychodynamic therapy in general--not storytelling in particular--and not in head to head competition with CBT for a given outcome, as the text implies. I searched separately for a Cochrane review on just storytelling as therapy for mental illness like depression and did not find one. So what she's doing is a fishy mixing of apples and oranges. Since she bills herself as "an author and writer" as opposed to a scientist or doctor, I am not knocking the rating all the way down to 1 star.

[Mehrsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is good, but not revolutionary. It’s a new way to look at some of the same old social science research. The spin is that we should be looking for meaning and not happiness. I’m totally on board with that and she does a great job addressing the difference. I did wish for something more or different when I picked it up. She started the book with some philosophy (Camus and Tolstoy on meaning), but then dropped it off and didn’t go back. Also, she said at the beginning that she’s a Sufi and that’s her background. I kept hoping that she would bring that knowledge and background to the topic. I mean, sufis have been at it for a long long time. Why not see what Rumi or Hafez can teach us about meaning instead of writing another book with the same social science studies conducted on wealthy college students in western countries that may or may not be representative or even replicable.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this from a goodreads giveaway and I'm glad I did. I suspected that this book might be too cheesy for me, being a hater of self-help books and all, but I smelled no cheese. Smith uses philosophy, literature and anecdotes from individual lives to show the importance of finding meaning in having a healthy and fulfilling life. Meaning is differentiated from happiness. The rich tend to be happier, but also are more prone to killing themselves, while the unhappy poor when they find meaning keep living. An unexpected thing happened while reading this; I actually changed some behaviors and attitudes for a few days and things worked out pretty well. Hmm. This is a well written and highly functional book.

[Moh. Nasiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

خوشبختی یا معنا کدامیک تعیین کننده است؟
خانم امیلی اصفهانی در کتاب "قدرت معنا" می خواهد به این سوال جواب دهد خوشبختی مهمتر است یا داشتن معنا؟ و با بررسی موئلفه های خوشبختی و روانشناسی مثبت گرای مارتین سلیگمن و سایر یافته های روانشناسی در این کشف از "چهار ستون معنا" سر در می آورد:
تعلق داشتن، هدف، تعالی و داستان سرایی

Belonging,
Purpose,
Transcendence,
Storytelling
خانم امیلی در یک سخنرانی تد می گوید:
در گذشته فکر می‌کردم که تمام هدف از زندگی پیدا کردن خوشبختی است. همه می‌گفتند موفقیت، راه رسیدن به خوشبختی است. بنابراین من رفتم به دنبال کار ایده‌آل، پارتنر ایده‌آل، آپارتمان ایده آل. ولی به جای این که احساس رضایت کنم، مضطرب و سرگردان بودم و فقط من نبودم که این حس را داشتم؛ دوستانم هم همین درگیری هارا داشتند.

تصمیم گرفتم به دانشگاه بروم و روان شناسی مثبت‌گرا بخوانم تا بفهمم چه چیزی به راستی سبب خوشحالی افراد می‌شود. ولی‌ آن‌ چه که در آن ‌جا فهمیدم زندگی ا‌م را عوض کرد. آمار و اطلاعات نشان می‌داد به دنبال خوشبختی بودن می‌تواند انسان ها را بدبخت کند و آن چه من را تحت تاثیرقرار داد این بود: آمار خودکشی در سراسر جهان بالا رفته است، و در آمریکا به بالاترین میزان در سی سال اخیر رسیده بود. با وجود این که زندگی‌‌ها  در حال بهبود است، با هر استانداردی که در نظر بگیریم افراد بیشتری احساس ناامیدی، افسردگی و تنهایی می‌کنند. یک جور خلاء انسان ها را عذاب می‌دهد، و حتما لازم نیست از نظر پزشکی افسرده باشید تا احساسش کنید. فکر می‌کنم همه‌ی ما دیر یا زود از خود می‌پرسیم: همه ا‌ش همین است؟ و براساس این پژوهش، آن چه این ناامیدی را پیش‌بینی می‌کند نبود خوشبختی نیست. فقدان چیز دیگری ا‌ست، فقدان داشتن معنا در زندگی.

این موضوع برای من سوال‌ برانگیز شد. آیا در زندگی چیزی بالاتر از خوشبختی هم هست؟ و تفاوت میان خوشبخت بودن و داشتن معنا در زندگی چیست؟ روان‌شناسان زیادی خوشبختی را وضعیتی از آسایش و راحتی تعریف کرده اند و این که در لحظه احساس خوبی داشته باشی. معنا، ولی مفهوم عمیق‌تری است. روان‌شناس مشهور مارتین سلیگمن می‌گوید معنا از تعلق داشتن و در خدمت چیزی فراتر از خود بودن می آید و از پرورش بهترینی که در درون شماست. فرهنگ ما نگاهی وسواس‌گونه به خوشبختی دارد، ولی من متوجه شدم که به دنبال معنا بودن مسیر رضایت‌بخش‌تری است. تحقیقات نشان می‌دهد افرادی که در زندگی معنا دارند، مقاوم‌تر هستند، در مدرسه و یا محیط کار موفق‌ترند، و حتی عمرهای طولانی‌تری دارند.

همه‌ی این‌ها من را به فکر فرو برد: هریک از ما چطور می‌توانیم معنادارتر زندگی کنیم؟ برای کشف این موضوع، پنج سال وقت گذاشتم و با صدها نفر مصاحبه کردم و هزاران صفحه مباحث روان شناسی،عصب‌شناسی و فلسفه مطالعه کردم. با جمع‌بندی تمام این‌ها فهمیدم، چیزهایی وجود دارند که من اسم‌ آن ها را گذاشتم چهار ستون یک زندگی معنادار. هر یک از ما می‌توانیم با ساختن چند یا همه‌ی این ستون‌ها در زندگی‌ خود، زندگی‌هایی از معنا خلق کنیم...
این قدرت معناست. خوشبختی می آید و می‌رود. ولی وقتی زندگی به راستی خوب است و وقتی همه‌چیز واقعا بد است، داشتن معنا به شما چیزی می‌دهد که محکم آن را بگیرید.

لینک سخنرانی کامل خانم امیلی
https://www.ted.com/talks/emily_esfah...
لینک کتاب صوتی نوار:
https://www.navaar.ir/audiobook/1475/...

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a subtle difference between the question “What is the meaning of life?” and “What is the meaning of my life?” The latter of which has caused me great anguish in recent years. While this book didn’t give me a solution, it did give me tools to help find the answer.

Up until the 18th century, students looked to religion for a greater purpose in life, but then teachers started using philosophy and classic literature to convey meaning. By the 20th century, professors decided that meaning was simply too abstract to teach, that school was for objective learning, and Positive Psychology aimed to help people understand what makes life fulfilling. The interest in happiness has tripled since the mid-2000s, but the sad irony is that chasing happiness has a way of making you more miserable. Meaning and happiness can be at odds. Having children, for instance, is often considered one of the greatest sources of meaning—but those who do report lower levels of happiness.

So how do we create meaning in our lives? Having strong social connections with others is important, as is contributing to society in a meaningful way. Smith provides many examples of how others have achieved this, ranging from helping people get in shape, to helping save lives. Their stories are incredibly moving and reminded me that while my job could be a million times more stressful, I’m also doing something which I believe is a meaningful contribution to society: I’m helping people buy more books, which I sincerely hope will enrich their lives. That being said, I know that I still want to accomplish so much more, and I now understand why.

This book hit me at just the right time and helped reaffirm the belief that life should be fulfilling, that it’s not selfish to strive for meaning, and that in doing so, you can bring meaning into the lives of others.

See more of my reviews: Blog // Instagram

[Leland Beaumont · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years a good friend of mine hung a sign in his office advising him to find: “Something, to do, someone to love, and something to hope for.” Perhaps we all seek meaning in our lives; “for as long as human beings have existed, they have yearned to know what makes life worth living.”

As more people realize that religious dogma is not the path to meaningful lives we may be cast adrift, or we may seek effective paths toward meaning. Author Emily Esfahani Smith provides useful insights as we seek our own meaningful path through life. “With meaning no longer imposed on us from and outside source, we have to create it for ourselves.”

Paths to meaning cannot run directly through happiness. Paradoxically, chasing happiness actually makes people unhappy. Unearned happiness does not bring us joy. A chief research finding is that there is a distinction between a happy life and a meaningful life. While hedonism refers to happiness, Aristotle used the ancient Greek word eudaimonia to refer to “human flourishing.” “Leading a eudaimonic life, Aristotle argued, requires cultivating the best qualities with you both morally and intellectually and living up to your potential.” If hedonia is defined by feeling good, then researchers argue that eudaimonia is defined by being and doing good.

In searching for the essential elements of meaning, Smith studied Sufi rituals, the work of several philosophers, great literature, positive psychology, student interviews, mythology, Life magazine, and other sources. Four themes presented themselves again and again throughout her search. She identifies these four pillars of meaning as: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence. Each chapter dedicated to exploring one of these pillars brings the ideas to life through the experiences of real people.

Tiny Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay provides a prototype for the pillar of belonging. As one resident explained, “There are 480 people on this island, and we all know each other.” People feel they belong when they are in relationships based on mutual care, and they have frequent pleasant interactions with other people. “Close relationships and high quality connections share an important feature in common: both require us to focus on others.”

The second pillar is purpose—a “stable and far-reaching” goal we are constantly working toward that involves a contribution to the world. Although zookeepers spend much of their day mucking out stalls, they have an unusually strong sense of purpose. Zookeepers are willing to sacrifice pay, time, comfort, and status because they believe they have a duty to use their gifts to help vulnerable creatures in captivity lead better lives. You may find purpose “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Storytelling—the third pillar of meaning— “is fundamental to the human search for meaning, whether we tell tales of the creation of the earth or our own early choices.” Storytelling helps us understand our lives as coherent. When crafting our stories we have the chance to focus on the most extraordinary events of our lives, both good and bad. People who believe their lives are meaningful tend to tell stories defined by growth, communion, and agency. Our stories endow mere facts with meaning.

Transcendence is the power “to go beyond” or “to climb”. One night at the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas hundreds of people gazing at thousands of stars in the night sky felt awe as they recognized they were one small part of an unimaginably vast universe. “The abject humility we experience when we realize that we are nothing but tiny flecks in a vast and incomprehensible universe paradoxically fills us with a deep and powerful sense of meaning.”

In the final chapters, Smith draws on her background in positive psychology to explore how these pillars of meaning can help up is overcome adversity, grow through resilience, and create cultures of meaning.

Pleasant stories and rigorous research meld into this readable and authoritative treatment of an important and timely topic.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

People are often in search of happiness, but Emily Esfahani Smith argues that people would do well to search for meaning instead. Smith looks closely at the research that has been done on four areas of finding meaning: relationships to others, contributing to society, making sense of experiences, and connecting to something bigger than one's self. The book is, happily, both readable and based on research, and that doesn't often happen.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing, brilliant, and totally the perfect book at the perfect time. I will be passing this on to everyone in existence and reading it myself often.

[Sarah Brodsky]

In Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin Seligman recalls visiting his father in a nursing home and witnessing his father’s despair after being disabled by a series of strokes. Then as a student and later a professor of psychology, Seligman saw helplessness again and again, in lab animals that had been inadvertently conditioned not to attempt control over their environment, and in depressed people who reported feeling empty. Seligman went on to prove that it was possible to lift people out of despair by changing their beliefs about their circumstances; you can teach optimism and resilience. Seligman’s work helped divert psychology from cataloging mental aberrations and toward the study of psychological strengths, and positive psychology was born.
While Learned Optimism is an illuminating look at the founding of positive psychology, it’s not the best introduction to the field for laymen, as it alternates between verbatim schema from Seligman’s research and anecdotes about his children and ex-wife. Emily Esfahani Smith gives a much more accessible overview of positive psychology in The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters. With generous hand-holding, Smith describes studies on the importance of community, transcendent experiences, and other “pillars of meaning” for psychological well-being.
Smith has interviewed many people who have found some kind of purpose or meaning in life, and some of the stories of overcoming adversity begin to blur together. A few stand out, such as that of a man who was imprisoned for dealing drugs, got in a fight, and ended up in solitary confinement. He was given a pen, an envelope, paper, and a Bible. He wrote a letter to his family, but without a stamp, he was unable to send it. Then he received a letter from his sister recommending that he read Psalm 91. When he opened the Bible to that psalm, he found a stamp between its pages. He was able to mail his letter, and after he was released, he opened a personal training business based on a fitness program he had invented in prison.
Also moving is a story from Smith’s own life. In the introduction, Smith explains that she grew up in a Sufi meetinghouse. She writes nostalgically of the devotion of the darvishes, who often traveled great distances to come to her house and meet a visiting mystic. Every act of the Sufis’ religious practice was imbued with meaning, and Smith would try to imitate their manner of drinking tea and meditating. But when Smith was a teenager, her family “drifted away” from Sufism and left her searching for another source of meaning to replace it.
Smith assures us that the precepts of positive psychology are an ample substitute for her lost childhood faith, but it’s hard to believe her. That’s not to say that the research isn’t valuable. Some of the studies she cites are genuinely clever or instructive, such as one that induced awe in an experimental group by positioning the subjects beneath a large replica of a dinosaur skeleton, and another that tracked the effects of a purposeful job description on fundraisers at a university call center. After they learned how their work was helping a scholarship recipient, the fundraisers spent more time on the phone and raised more money than their coworkers in a control group.
What’s unconvincing about the idea of a meaningful-but-not-religious life based on Smith’s four pillars is that the advice presented here has no encompassing narrative, despite the fact that one of the pillars is storytelling. Each of the studies that Smith writes about examines an isolated aspect of a meaningful life, and the examples often feature adherents of religions or philosophies. But since psychologists are not concerned with choosing between cultures, their recommendations can be applied to any beliefs and are kind of vacuous in the aggregate.
It appears that Buddha, existentialism, and a jousting club all have equal claims to creating meaning, as long as they can clear a few easy hurdles like forming a community and motivating people to act. Choosing from the available meaning sources for the purpose of maintaining psychological health is not a very significant choice, then, since any other option could have been just as therapeutic. This could be even more of a problem for the people who sample the suggested meaningful activities without settling on a belief system at all. Chasing after meaning through incidental attendance at stargazing night or StoryCorps could prove just as unsatisfying as chasing after happiness, which Smith rightly concludes is a way to disappointment.
The absence of a frame of reference also means that there is little acknowledgement that meaning sources can conflict with each other. In Smith’s telling, meaning is almost always good. Only in the final chapter does Smith briefly mention that people can find meaning in evil, as for example recruits find meaning in ISIS. It’s clear from just a passing reference to ISIS that meaning is not sufficient for either individual or societal well-being and that meaning sources must be measured against other values. But Smith doesn’t explore what those values might be and merely trusts readers to pursue meaning virtuously.
The Power of Meaning has some sensible suggestions for people who want to do something fulfilling: be involved in a community, find a purpose, and seek transcendence. The advice will be much easier to follow if you already have a philosophy or faith in which to carry it out. It probably won’t teach anyone to craft a meaningful life from scratch, although it may give you some ideas for adding meaning on the margins.

[Moira Macfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het is de vraag of het voor de aarde zin heeft dat de mens er is en al sinds mensenheugenis worstelt de mens met de zinvraag wat de zin van het leven is. Ik weet het niet, maar aangezien ik er toch ben geef ik mijn leven graag zin.
Een boek dat hoe je zin aan je leven geeft zowel vanuit psychologische als filosofische hoek bekijkt. Vaak bekruipt me het gevoel dat geluk bestaat uit vluchtige kortstondige aandacht en het 'hebben' van dingen en ervaringen. En mis je dat 'geluk' dan zijn er genoeg boeken te koop waarin wordt uitgelegd hoe dat recht op geluk in zeven stappen te heroveren. Dit boek heeft een andere insteek. Het richt zich niet op ‘hedonia’ (het vluchtige geluk) maar op ‘eudaimonia’ (de zin,voldoening). Ik hou van de dingen in het leven waarmee ik me verbonden voel en waar ik betekenis aan kan geven en vinden. We zijn hier tenslotte niet alleen en als we zo snel leven hollen we elkaar en onszelf dan niet voorbij?
Het is misschien niet allemaal even vernieuwend, maar het is wel iets wat we in deze tijd en in de westerse maatschappij een beetje zijn kwijtgeraakt en aandacht vraagt. Fijn onderwerp om over te lezen en me gesteund te voelen. Geschreven met grote compassie voor mensen uit alle lagen in de samenleving, dat waardeerde ik enorm! Verder vond ik het erg fijn dat het boek niet bestaat uit oneliners en korte hapklare zinnen, het schreeuwt je nergens toe.

'Ieder van ons heeft sterke kanten, talenten, inzichten en ervaringen die ons maken tot wie we zijn. Daarom hebben we allemaal een ander doel, een ideaal dat past bij wie we zijn en waar we warm voor lopen - een doel dat aansluit op onze identiteit.
De beroemde psycholoog Erik Erikson, die leefde in de twintigste eeuw, beschreef identiteit als een complex verschijnsel met vele facetten. Het heeft niet alleen betrekking op wie we zijn, maar ook op waar we vandaan komen, waar we heen gaan en hoe we in de samenleving en wereld staan. Iemand die een stevige greep heeft op zijn identiteit weet welke overtuigingen, waarden en levensdoelen hij aanhangt, en hoe de groepen en de gemeenschap waarbij hij betrokken is hem hebben gevormd. Hij is in staat om antwoord te geven op de belangrijkste vragen die we in onze adolescentie stellen: Wie ben ik, en wat voor mens wil ik zijn? Maar identiteit is niet statisch. In elke fase van het leven moeten we deze vragen opnieuw beantwoorden. Aan het einde van ons leven staan we niet voor de vraag: Wat voor mens wil ik zijn? Maar: Wat voor mens ben ik geweest en kan ik me daarmee verzoenen? Een mens die vanuit zijn waarden heeft geleefd en zijn levensdoelen heeft bereikt zal 'ego-integriteit' ervaren in plaats van 'wanhoop', aldus Erikson.'

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Power of Meaning makes the reader stop and question what is the meaning of your life. What gives it purpose, why are you here. I'm a cancer survivor and this book brought back memories for me of when I was going through treatment and asking myself why me. What is the meaning for me to go through this scary time. I found my purpose was to tell my story about surviving cancer to whoever wanted to listen so that maybe I can help ease any doubts and worries they might have when they are faced with cancer treatment. I have talked with several friends and friends of friends to share my knowledge. This was a wonderful book that reminded me of what the meaning of my life is about. Now I hope to make a difference in someone's life through my writing and sharing my love of books with my neighbors through my Little Free Library. This is a reminder that the meaning of your life doesn't have to be grand, it can be something small that makes you happy and makes you want to live.

I received this copy through the Penguin Random House First to Read program.

[Larp · Rating 5 out of 5]

หลังอ่านจบรู้สึกว่าตัวเองโชคดีมากที่ได้อ่านเล่มนี้ รู้สึกอิ่มเอมและสุขใจตลอดการอ่าน 

เป็นหนังสือที่ว่าด้วยเรื่องอะไรทำให้ชีวิตมีความหมาย ซึ่งในอีกความหมายนึงสำหรับการตีความของตัวเองคือ "อะไรคือความสุขภายในที่มั่นคงและยั่งยืน"

สำหรับใครที่มองหาความหมายของการมีชีวิต แนะนำเล่มนี้เลยจบครบเครื่อง มีงานวิจัยและสรุปเนื้อหาจากหนังสือเล่มอื่นรวมอยู่ด้วย 

เนื้อหาหลักพูดถึงแก่นของความหมายที่แบ่งออกเป็น 4 ประเภท คือ
1. ความรู้สึกผูกพันเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของกันและกัน (belonging)
2. จุดมุ่งหมาย (purpose) เพื่อประโยชน์ต่อสังคม
3. การเล่าเรื่อง (story telling)
4. การข้ามพ้นตัวตน (transcendence)

สำหรับตัวเองแล้ว สรุปได้ว่า สิ่งที่ทำให้ชีวิตมีความหมาย เริ่มต้นจากความเมตตาและความรัก(ผู้อื่น) ซึ่งจะเป็นเครื่องนำทางให้เรารู้สึกถึง/เข้าถึงความหมายของชีวิต ที่จริงๆแล้วช่างเรียบง่ายกว่าที่เราเคยคิดไว้มาก 


5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Cristine Mermaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. A neighbor was talking about it and it intrigued me enough that I picked it up the next day. The focus on meaning appealed to me because I have always felt that the pursuit of happiness wasn't for me because simply chasing "happy" sounds like a life of frivolousness and ignoring the dark side which seemed an incredible priviledge and selfish (to me, anyway, a former friend and I have had many an argument about this). But to chase meaning, to find purpose, that was what I wanted and in that of course, there would be reward and joy, and this solidified that.

The psychology behind how we frame what happens to us, what we do with our lives, how we see our work, and how we connect with other people to find purpose and meaning resonated with me. People with a higher sense of meaning thrive in every way even though they may have harder circumstances or deal with more difficult things because they are putting themselves into brutal situations to try to be of help. However, even things as simple as seeing the bigger picture at your job (to use an example: a bricklayer was asked what we was doing and he said, "laying bricks on top of each other" and another was asked the same question and answered "creating a beautiful place for a family to live and be comfortable in" ) can make all of the difference.

The author also discussed how important a sense of belonging is to our feeling of meaning in our lives and how that's missing in so much of society today. I could very much relate to that as I have many times in my life felt I didn't 'belong' wherever I was and even though I don't need to be with people 24/7 (and frankly don't want to) , there is a deep sense of comfort and security in feeling you have tribe, your sense of a place in this world. This is actually what made some 3rd world countries higher on the "Happiness" scale than the USA, that people felt a sense of belonging and purpose in their communities.

The chapter that intrigued me the most was the one on transcendence because I have always been captivated by mystical experiences, that sense of reverence when hiking in the mountains or swimming in the lake or just being still and feeling that hum from nature. I'm not ready to do LSD to repeat it like the experiment in the book but it definitely reinforced that I need to get into nature more.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is asking themselves these questions or struggling with their purpose or just feeling a bit lost .

[Lissa00 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I picked up this book intending to dip in and out as the mood fit, however, I ended up reading it from start to finish rather quickly. Emily Esfahani Smith begins with the assertion that studies have shown that fleetingness and fickleness of happiness has very little to do with depressed or suicidal thoughts, but rather is greatly effected by whether one's life is perceived to have meaning. She then provides chapters on different interpretations of meaning and snippets from people who have overcome great odd by finding meaning in their lives. I thought this was incredibly well researched and written with very interesting and inspiring ideas that are especially relevant in our current, somewhat toxic, environment. I would highly recommend this to people who are still suffering the affects of the 2016 election cycle. I received this book from the LibraryThing giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. The intro didn't grab me right off, and some chapters had a little more to say than others, but overall I'd say this is one of the best books of this kind that I've read. Smith's four "pillars" of meaning are: Belonging (our relationship to others), Purpose (a feeling of contributing to society), Storytelling (making sense of our place in the world through a narrative), and Transcendence (connecting to something bigger than the self). Each chapter expands on those ideas as well as looking into "Cultures of Meaning". Nothing too profound necessarily but very thought provoking. Well thought out and researched without getting to bogged down in a lot of science and stats.

[Emma Sea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine, just lighter and fluffier than I was expecting.

[Tanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

สำหรับผ�� นี่เป็นหนังสือในดวงใจ

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Explores the importance of meaning in one's life, four pillars upon which meaning rests, and how we might cultivate cultures of meaning.

The question of what a life well-lived is one that philosophers and baristas, young and old alike have considered from the earliest records we have of human musings. Emily Esfahani Smith introduces us to the importance of this in describing the beauty of the Sufi community gatherings in which she grew up and the findings of positive psychologists Martin Seligman and Robert Nozick. At one time, it was at the heart of university education and considering the great ideas was to consider how people through history found meaning. No longer. And yet now as ever, people face a crisis of meaning as they try to answer the question of what they are living for.

Smith does not offer a single answer, recognizing that people have answered this in numerous ways in different religions, philosophies, or ways of living. What she does instead is draw upon contemporary research and a wide range of writers and extra-ordinary people who have grappled with questions of meaning to identify four pillars or necessary elements upon which a meaningful live is built or as she puts it, "crafted."

Belonging. She writes of the close knit community of the Tangier Island watermen and the Society for Creative Anachronism as two examples of communities that foster a high sense of belonging and thus meaning for their participants. From infants to old people, isolation is deadly to health and one's sense of well-being.

Purpose. We meet a young zoo-keeper and an ex-con who launched a fitness enterprise after helping first himself and other prisoners get fit. And she gives the example of the NASA janitor who told President Kennedy that it was his purpose to "help put a man on the moon." Whoever we are, we need some big goal around which we organize our lives.

Storytelling. This caught me by surprise at first. Yet we all need to be able to see the course of our lives as a coherent narrative that makes sense of the world. She tells the stories of The Moth and the Story Corp projects and how significant the telling of stories are for both storytellers and their audiences.

Transcendence. She describes the "Overview Effect," the experience of astronauts having scene the planet as a whole and not being able to ever approach life the same way again. For many, transcendence comes through some form of religious experience, but whatever it is, it is this sense of being part of something vastly greater than oneself.

Her concluding two chapters are on "Growth" and "Cultures of Meaning." She writes of how often the discovery of meaning comes through adversity, using the examples of the Dinner Party, a gathering for those who have lost loved ones who are trying to find meaning in the midst of their grief, and Dryhootch, a coffee house for veterans suffering from PTSD founded by a vet whose struggles with PTSD led to a drunk driving accident where he killed another man. In "Cultures of Meaning" Smith describes how people have found meaning in communities emphasizing each of the pillars, ranging from a church to an apparel company.

Emily Esfahani Smith's approach, as you may be able to tell is to mix a bit of research, insights from thoughtful writers like Viktor Frankl, and real life stories. It makes for a highly readable account. She honors both those whose sources of meaning are found in religious faith, and those for whom it is not. While some who are committed to a particular way of defining meaning might find this to "relativistic," I would contend it is a great way to discover the ways people find meaning besides one's own way. I could see the book being used for discussions where the object is learning about how others find meaning by exploring where each of us finds belonging, what gives each of us purpose, how each of us would narrate the story of our lives, and where we have experienced transcendence.

It raises good questions, particularly for those in religious traditions, about how one might go deeper in those traditions. We may embrace certain formal beliefs and practices, yet for our faith to be something alive both for us and others, the elements of belonging, purpose, story, and transcendence are indeed essential to living out lives that matter. To whom we belong and who we love, how we translate what we believe about God or whatever Ultimate we affirm into purposeful action, how we make sense of our story as part of a larger Story, and how we cultivate an attentiveness to God or the Ultimate are the things that bring beliefs to life. Ultimately, the "four pillars" must rest on some foundation and not thin air, but a foundation alone does not make a house to live in, but only something on which to build the meaningful life. This book may help us reflect on how well we are building.

_______________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher via LibraryThing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Cariadne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything here is a no-brainer. What the author did differently was kick it off by adding her own faith and wrapping it with stories and quoting other's research. As an OD professional, this info is all old hat to me and I thought the blah formatting of the book could have been improved (bolding/calling out key concepts, pull quotes, etc. would've really helped in reading this lengthy text) to help bring home the key concepts in the e-book sampler I received. Additionally, I thought the book needed better editing. A lot of the stories/chapters were overly long and needed tightening to stop some of the meandering and make the book more impactful.

[Mook Woramon · Rating 5 out of 5]

”อะไรคือเหตุผลที่ทำให้มนุษย์เลือกมีชีวิตอยู่ต่อ แม้ในห้วงเวลาสิ้นหวัง”

บางครั้งเราคิดว่าแค่มีความสุขก็เพียงพอแล้ว แต่เคยรู้สึกมั้ยว่าต่อให้มีความสุขแล้วก็เหมือนชีวิตยังว่างเปล่า เหมือนมีอะไรบางอย่างขาดหายไป
ความหมายคือสิ่งที่มาเติมเต็มความว่างเปล่านั้น

การได้ผูกสัมพันธ์กับผู้อื่น ทำประโยชน์ต่อสังคม การข้ามพ้นตัวตนและเชื่อมโยงกับสิ่งที่ยิ่งใหญ่กว่าตัวเอง สิ่งเหล่านี้ล้วนทำให้ชีวิตมีความหมายและคุณค่า

ทุกคนสามารถสร้างความหมายของชีวิตได้ การเห็นอกเห็นใจเพื่อนมนุษย์ การช่วยเหลือคนแปลกหน้า การตั้งใจฟังใครสักคน สิ่งเหล่านี้ล้วนมีความหมายช่วยส่องแสงสว่างให้ชีวิตเรา

เป็นหนังสือที่เหมาะสำหรับอ่านในช่วงเวลาที่โลกหมุนเร็วจนตามไม่ทัน

[Lidja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sooo wanted this to be an enlightening read. I did not find it enlightening; I found it to be rather shallow.. The author gathered various anecdotes that illustrate each of her categories of meaning, but ironically, she never seems to make those anecdotes translate into *meaningful* commentary. She has generated a lot of footnotes, though, so that’s almost the same thing, right? Hmmm...

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my new favorite books. I've read a lot of psychology/business/self-help books over the years, and usually I walk away with a better understanding and a new framework that is helpful. Usually the frameworks are small evaluations of how I speak with others, how I view leadership, or how to delegate. The Power of Meaning had me evaluating my life plans and trajectory by continually asking myself, "What is the good hard thing that I can do now that will have me look back on life with more satisfaction in the future," and then planning from there. Rare is the book that challenges me to reevaluate my being and the meaning behind what I have to offer the world.

I appreciated the stories and the break down of the book. I found myself pausing regularly to think about things like, "If I care so much for the orphans in this story that I'm reading about, then what am I going to do to help children in similar situations?" or "If I find meaning in fatherhood, what am I doing to make my son a priority to not only teach him but listen to and learn from him?" This book helped me reevaluate portions of my life and has started me on a path of reorganizing my goals and prioritizing them differently.

I think the thing this book did for me that helped me the most was reevaluate my relationship with God and my understanding of death. As a child I had a child's faith in God. I believed in Him, but so much of that belief was based out of obedience. As I grew up, that obedience shifted to fear of offending God, and my relationship with God was believing that He was an easily perturbed taskmaster bent on justice.

As I got older, my view shifted. I couldn't believe in a vengeful God. I turned to the scriptures and found verses that instead focused on love, empathy, and compassion. I felt like I better understood the story of Jesus, and I felt more comfortable with the God of Matthew 7:11, a God who was waiting to bless us and is full of understanding. But while I grew more comfortable with this concept of God, a lingering thought always popped up in the back of my mind, "You're comfortable with this concept of God, because that's what God is, a concept."

Over the last few years, that thought has made it's way to the forefront of my mind. Maybe I misunderstood God because God is nothing more than our current interpretation of Him. And if that's true, then religion is false. And if religion is false, then one day we die, we disappear, and that's all there was. And quite frankly, that scares the hell out of me.

So I've seen my faith shift to desperation. I want God to be real because the alternative is terrifying. Either God is real or else I'm living just to die and there's no meaning to life at all. To make a poor analogy, God became a parachute that I was promised that I'm hoping appears when I pull the cord, but I'm also suspicious He's not there because sometimes the pack feels pretty light. And that's how I've lived with my faith these last few years. A desperate plea that God is real rather than a feeling that He is. And it's that fear that stunts my spiritual growth, but until this book, I hadn't seen many ways around it.

What this book has started to do for me, is show me an alternative narrative. And it might be a strange narrative, but it works for me, and that narrative started with a question: If God isn't real, and this life is all we have, then what am I? I believe that that answer is then simply star dust. I'm a bunch of atoms and molecules whirring around in what I recognize as a body, but the amazing miracle is that this specific group of atoms identifies itself as a whole, and has a consciousness to momentarily recognize itself as an entity. And if that's all there is, if that's all this conscious life is about, then what a privilege it is to even momentarily experience life this way.

There are atoms and molecules floating around that do not seem to have the same level of consciousness as humans. It's a miracle that all of me has been placed together in such a way that I have consciousness. If God isn't real, then one day I will die, those atoms will dissolve into the ground, become reabsorbed by the earth, and change into the grass, or dirt, or hydrogen and nitrogen or whatever. Life will continue, I will in a way continue, consciousness will not. And what a privilege it was to be organized in this way for however long I get.

This shift in focus from inevitability of death and meaningless to one of gratitude for being able to even experience life in this way, I believe opens up a new channel for me to relate to God. A relationship based out of desperation and fear of an alternative is no relationship at all. That view has stripped me of my feelings of agency in choosing God and replaces those feelings with an inevitability of choosing God or meaninglessness. It's my belief that my re-framing of the potential purposes of life invites me to explore new reasons to relate to and hold a relationship with God. If I can no longer choose Him based on fear, why will I choose Him? I'm excited to better explore those emotions and choices, and I think it invites my life outlook on God and the alternatives as being one filled with gratitude instead of fear. I'm excited to have an improved relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Now I know that a lot of those thoughts are messy. I assume the average person to read them and think, "That's nice that that worked for you, but it's not really my thing," and that's okay. That's how my mind works in the situation I'm in, and I don't expect it to be relatable to many people. I mostly wrote this down as a personal journal for my future self. But what I do think fits with this book and is hopefully relatable, is that the reason I was able to have any sort of personal breakthrough for myself is because this book pushed me to think more deeply about things that I'd given up on trying to question about myself. I don't expect everyone to come to the same conclusions that I did, but I do think this book can help several people find deeper meaning to the questions and trials that they have about themselves.

[David Parkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool book. It reiterated things I already believe, but there were a few parts that got super boring & seemed pointless (eg. long explanation of the history of constellations & astronomy), and there were also a few parts that felt lowkey like the author was trying to promote hallucinogetic drugs & bizarre practices as if it was the only way to experience "transcendence" and feel meaning in our suffering.

Aside from that weirdness, I loved the idea of how essential it is to finding meaning in life, whether it be through religion, hobbies, service, etc.

Not amazing, but I'd recommend it to any weary traveler I might come across.

QED.

[Karel Baloun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily starts with an effective, deep philosophical review of human meaning, because this important topic has been considered for millennia. Just only this beginning, alone, makes the book highly valuable. I will return to re-read this from decade to decade.

Meaning indeed comes from: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence. Per additional chapters on culture and growth are also valuable. Her powerful conclusion poles in the master, Victor Frankel, and amazes me as she both validates him in a way that he was too humble to do for himself, while adding to his unforgettable contribution.

This should be required reading in any psychology or wellness program and improve pretty much any kind of reader, in a format that is mostly very readable storytelling.

[Evi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaft, je had gelijk! ! !

[Gary Moreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the conundrum that has haunted us from the beginning of time: What is the meaning of life? To Emily—her writing and personality seem to invite familiarity—it all turns on the four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, storytelling, and transcendence.

Emily gave a TED talk in April, 2017, entitled, “There is more to life than being happy,” and if you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it. It is insightful, concise, engaging, and delivered with humility and authenticity. My first thought upon watching it was that we should all have a cup of coffee with this woman.

People will be naturally inclined to compare the book and the talk, and many reviewers have. That’s certainly understandable, in part due to the high quality of the talk, but perhaps a bit unfair. It is far easier to explain a concept that is already positively perceived, like belonging and purpose, in summary than in detail. Since we ultimately want to believe, the explanations can seem less inspiring than the summary itself.

The author tells her story through stories. And some have noted that the stories sometimes seem disconnected or less than fully relevant. And they are, in many cases, not run-of-the-mill. A Compline religious service, or a Sufi meetinghouse, for example, are not things most of us will ever experience. This sense of irrelevance, however, is more due to the story of the book rather than the stories themselves. The meaning of life is an ambitious topic to take on.

Different parts of the book will resonate more or less with different readers. The sections on storytelling resonated with me. I’ve always been struck by the observation that good storytellers not only make good authors; they seem to be more grounded than the rest of us. One might conclude that this is a function of the skills of storytelling, but I think that’s too simple an explanation, and Emily has reinforced my thinking.

We all have a narrative. If we can’t tell it without jumping around like beads of water on a hot skillet, it probably has less to do with our ability to tell stories than the perspective we bring to the story. Every narrative is compelling when perceived in the right way, although far from all are redemptive.

The concept that I struggle with most is belonging. It suggests a need to externalize that I find uncomfortable. For starters, I do believe there are a large and growing number of us who will never externalize, whether we seek to or not, yet each of us has a great deal to offer. Are we destined to live lives without meaning?

Secondly, I believe my life does have meaning, despite the fact that I belong to no group even remotely similar to the Society for Creative Anachronism, the group of medieval enthusiasts and re-creationists this is the subject of one of her stories.

This lack of interest in joining any club I attribute, in the utmost positive way, to my Chinese wife. We live our lives isolated from the world but far from alone. We have each other in the most basic sense. To say we share a soul seems demeaning and cliché. We share more than that. Were someone to find us months after our passing alone in our townhouse, there would be no need for sorrow. We would have died very content. Probably not in each other’s arms; perhaps not even happy in the sense that word is commonly used; but each with belonging in our hearts.

To be sure, Emily does make it clear that group-belonging is just one form of belonging. In fact, she ends with this: “Love, of course, is at the center of the meaningful life.” And, “That’s the power of meaning. It’s not some great revelation. It’s pausing to say hi to a newspaper vendor and reaching out to someone at work who seems down.”

Emily is a philosopher, psychologist, scientist, and a person who was taught a highly spiritual perspective from an early age. That may mean that her language and perspective seem a little scattered to anyone who is strongly associated with only one or two of these perspectives.

I think, however, that this diversity in thought and perspective makes her uniquely qualified to write this book. Anyone who has ever tried to thoughtfully meditate in the Buddhist tradition (I have not, but I have spent a lot of time over the last six decades contemplating the void, as I refer to it.) will know that is not easy.

For some of us, in the same way, this book may not be easy either. I do believe, however, that it is well worth the effort. There is, after all, no bigger and important question you will face as you go through your day.

[Saarah Niña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read from 10/07/17 to 13/07/17

Valuable

In this book Emily Eshfani Smith explores the meaning of life. She writes with a discursive prose, and discusses the different themes which contribute towards a more meaningful, more fulfilled life. She dismisses the common idea that only happiness is significant, rather she introduces the idea that a deeper life comes from more than instant gratification or even just long term happiness. It comes from meaning. She delivers the core message that there are four pillars which amount to meaning: belonging (connections), purpose (identity), storytelling, and transcendence (humility, and an appreciation that there exists a world beyond and greater than oneself.)

This book will save you from browsing journals, researching, or listening to complicated philosophical discussions in your attempt to figure out how best to accomplish a meaningful lifestyle. Smith writes concisely, delivering a wide array of research from the field of science, philosophy and ethics -Kant, Aristotle, Viktar Frankl- and psychology and also religious perspectives - Sufism, Ghandi, the Buddha. As someone who studied Psychology and religion,  I appreciated Smith's thorough exploration of topics including grief, legacy, death, suffering and ultimately, love and compassion. Also having studied William James and religious experiences, I already had an interest in mysticism and the meaningful lives that result from such experiences.

I found Smith's research to be impressive, and the lessons drawn from said research were easily understood. Though this is evidently a scholarly piece of work, you do not need to be a scholar to understand it as the language and terminology was defined.

In the Western world, we live such busy, distracted, lives. We often blindly obey, believing our choices to be made for us, or we just follow everyone else. We conform. Thus, we don't always get the chance to appreciate the questions which demand deep thought or we deliberately avoid such questions. This book takes you on that personal journey, guiding you and helping you answer the questions that so often lie dormant at the back of your mind.

I received this book through NetGalley.