I've always been a rather existential kind of guy. Let's just leap right out there and experience life! Let's take the plunge (if there is a plunge to take) and get into the thick of an experience. Let's not timidly hide away and spend our lives protecting ourselves from possible loss, because when life is all over what have you got to show for that - that you lasted as long as you could before you died? It's going to be over at some point for each person, so then what? Congratulations for lasting to seventy-five with no broken bones. I think I'd rather have a few broken bones and die at seventy if what I have in return is a rich life full of experiences.

Jesus addressed this when he told the story of a master who scolded his servant for taking the resources given to him and burying them in the ground out of fear that he would not be able to produce them on demand if the master should ever wonder about them. Well, the master did, and the servant dug them up and gave them back just as they had been given. He was scolded because he had not invested them and earned a profit. It does not profit us to hide ourselves away from life, timidly protecting ourselves from becoming ruined by the world and what living in it has to bring. The only way to profit from being alive is to LIVE.

In the midst of living my life, I have often found myself also wondering about the significance, the meaning of any given experience. Finding such meaning is very important, because you and I are purposeful beings. We always think about something, and we often orient around our intentions. A common saying is, "What's that about?" It's not uncommon to hear someone affirm something by saying, "I'm all about that!" The significance of any given experience is found by understanding what it is about.

In 2004 Gillian King wrote of a research project in which she and her colleagues at the Thames Valley Children's Centre had examined many different ways in which to understand the meaning of life experiences. They found that these diverse explanations of meaning-making fell into four categories: fundamental ways of processing or experiencing the world, individual differences in ways of experiencing the world, types of functions of care-giving and social support, and determinants of quality of life, health, and well-being. They concluded that people create meaning out of their experiences in order to give their lives coherence and purpose.

The stimulus for such a study arose from contemplating the life-changing experiences and realisations of fifteen people who had chronic disabilities. The participants in that initial consideration identified three ways in which they found significance and meaning: their relationships with others (belonging), taking part in activities which lead to mastery (doing), and seeking to understand themselves and others in the world around them (understanding).

I think this is a somewhat simple but useful way of comprehending how people find meaning, or make meaning out of the life events that constitute experience for them. If you are a person who feels that life has lost it's purpose, or that you no longer have much zest for living, you might stand back a bit and ask yourself some questions about these three areas.

Do you belong to anyone? Do you belong to any group of people?

Do you have something you like to do, some kind of hobby or even some kind of job that requires something of you, stretches you in some way, and that is in itself important? Does what you do require some kind of skill? Did it take some training and time to master?

Do you ever find a still moment to contemplate what is going on around you, to consider what you do or how you spend your time and resources? Do you think about the other people in your life, or the things you are doing with yourself

If, when you ask these kinds of questions, your jaw flops open and you start to drool a bit, perhaps you're just wasting your life and not investing it in something that will eventually yield a profit. It's something to think about.