Meaning...

The brain is slowly thawing.... 8) 

It's Christmas season! And often, we are asked about what Christmas means. Born to die, that one might live. But a look around will tell us that Christmas while continues in its spirit of giving, is more vague in what it means to most of us.

So what gives meaning to our lives? Is meaning externally brought on or internally generated? If it's an external one, then it's also logical to conclude that our moods can be affected by even the weather! Incidentally, the weather does affect our moods. Anyway, if we are responsible for meaning in our lives, then it is supposed to be both liberating and terrifying. Liberating because you no longer depend on others for meaning.... and terrifying at the same time, cos this flow of thought seems to put us all as capable of keeping ourselves happy, in other words we'll be like an ubermensch. 

I am still inclined to believe that one of the things in life that gives real meaning to our lives remains the relationships that each of us experience. Right from the relationship with the Divine to our families and the people who cross our paths. It's holiday season. And this year, what I appreciate most is the opportunity to renew ties with my family members and also new friends made.

However, I think ubermensch we are not cos we're not perfect. Meaning in our lives is often affected by the people around us. Other Half and I have been looking at our old videos and came across a video of a church camp we attended some years back. What caught our eye were these.... vibrance, energy, enthusiam from one of the sessions that we had during the Camp. There were many young kids and the church camp had a family-like atmosphere when that moment was caught. It looked like everyone had fun. 

Fast forward 8 years... Many of the kids have grown up and left. Many of the adults spot more gray hair. The last church camp we attended had no programmes for the left-behind-kids. Meaning for some had somehow gone on a narrower bandwidth... didn't matter which angle you look from. Meaning, apparently can be affected by external factors. 

The years that have added themselves onto my timeline has also taught me that all of us are 'selfish' creatures.... and because of that , we'll continue to do those things that meet our needs and therefore give meaning to our own lives first; 5Ks - kah ki kor kah ki, with some effort to appease our conscience. That type of giving (sacrifice) as told in a parable of the poor woman who gave her two coins and the rich and his bag of gold remains something hard for each of us to do. The thing is, over the years, even in churches, I have seen how, very often the best is reserved for certain groups (with connection)..... and these benefitted tremendously.. Then, there were those who gave like the widow did and suffered heartaches..  And you wonder where the meaning is... One might be excused for thinking that 5K works better.

Meaning gives a sense of purpose and it works vice versa too. Purpose can be selfish or noble. One takes away meaning, the other gives and enhances it. Calvary was noble and it gives us life. 

New Year beckons... Hope, hopefully.....