The Journey to True Meaning

"Of course they needed to care. It was the meaning of everything." -The Giver

"What is the meaning of life?" This ultimate question has been puzzled over for centuries. Some shrug their shoulders and say "who cares." Others say there is no meaning, so just enjoy life and do everything you can while you've got the chance. And still others probably do care about life and yet are too busy or too lackadaisical to consider and examine what is truly meaningful in life and where they stand with regard to it.

I don't want to discuss what really is the meaning of life, but I would like to examine some of the most important things that can make life meaningful and that keep us from simply existing.

"When we live without faith, when we live without hope...when we live without love, we only exist." -Gary Schmidt

Today, there is such an emphasized stigmatism against risk, pain, failure, the unknown, inequality, and, in short, vulnerability, that we are surrounded by the glorification of comfort, easiness, superficial happiness, and supposedly strong role models. And yet, many of the things that are of most value in life do not come through constant comfort nor are they easy or superficially happy. Love, in particular, as I've already mentioned a few times on this blog, makes us vulnerable.

"Is it worth giving up the experience of beauty and joy and love in order to end pain and suffering?" -NY Post

A week ago, I gave a talk in my college ward's sacrament meeting. I spoke on Matt. 14: 22-33 (on which I wrote this blog post two years ago) and emphasized on having the faith to "step out of the boat" and that Christ would immediately stretch forth His hand should we call out to Him when we feel like we're drowning due to our inevitable fear of the storm/unknown. In many ways, this story and message, particularly the former, applies to this post. To revise the above quote: "Is it worth giving up the experience of beauty and joy and love in order to stay in our comfortable and familiar boats?"

"Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith." -Margaret Shepard

An excerpt from my talk:

Just as Frodo must leave the comfort of the Shire for the utterly unknown, Peter must also leave the comfort and safety of the boat in order to progress on his quest to follow Christ.

The New Testament manual says, “Many times in the scriptures the Lord tells us not to fear, but rather to have faith in Him and His purposes. When we act in fear we often make mistakes, but when we act in faith we have the strength to accomplish much more than we could on our own.”

I don't think faith can fully exist with fear, but I think this was a very important moment for Peter. In this story, we tend to focus on his lack of faith, but he had faith. He had the faith to step out of his comfort zone and to tread an unfamiliar and seemingly impossible path through Christ’s power and help.

I think this happens to us a lot when we face the unknown in life. We have a desire to "go to Jesus" and to do His will. But it takes getting out of our familiar and comfortable boats. The stepping out of the boat and walking on the water itself is very much a test and trial of life, and we must step out of the boat. It is the only way to truly progress, and it is the greatest step of faith and trust we can choose to take as we progress to come unto Christ and to fulfill our potential. As we make choices and walk through those experiences, whether they be college, a mission, marriage, or parenthood, we endure, we learn, and we keep our eyes on Him.

Elder Holland said in an address, “Don’t panic and retreat. Don’t lose your confidence. Don’t forget how you once felt. Don’t distrust the experience you had…. Yes, there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been genuine illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts…. Don’t give in. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness…. Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence.’ Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you” (“Cast Not Away Therefore Thy Confidence” by Jeffery R. Holland, BYU Devotional Address, March 1999).

"It's impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all--in which case, you fail by default." -J.K. Rowling

Yesterday afternoon my parents and I went to see the new movie adaption of Lois Lowry's The Giver. I read the book several years ago, and I remember enjoying it, but the movie had a powerful impact on me. It shook me to the core. Why? Because it addresses what is of true value in life, the things that were lacking in Jonas's dystopian community, such as love. In order for the community to truly experience the value and good in those aspects of life, Jonas had to leave the community, or "step out of his boat." It could be argued that he actually had to step out of the boat when he became the Receiver, because once he had become a Receiver, he had pretty much marked out his journey to leave the community, but the concept still remains the same. In the end, he had to step out into the unknown in order to achieve something greater. The same applies to the other community members. In order for them to truly live and have a meaningful and colorful life, they had to step out of their comfortable and safe boats where there was no pain or grief. They didn't understand this and actually fought against the unknown, but ultimately, it was the only way for them to truly understand joy and love.

"Take pride in your pain; you are stronger than those who have none." -Lois Lowry

As evidenced in The Giver, emotion is vital to truly have meaning in life.

 In an emotionless world, life is, metaphorically, colorless. Emotions are what influence us, make us who we are, and help us to connect with others around us on a variety of levels. In an emotionless world, there wouldn't be any sorrow or pain or heartache, but the amazing human capacity to love and to feel joy would also cease to exist. We would be left with a two-dimensional world where there would be little or no reason to hope or cry or laugh or make life-changing choices. And why would we? We wouldn't know that there was a deep, fulfilling life that could fill us with emotions, both painful and beautiful.

When we consider the wonderful moments that occur because of love and hope, would we wish to abandon all of that simply because those emotions also bring pain? Would we wish to stay in our safe boats or Shires full of comfortable familiarities simply because the unknown is too daunting and risky or because we are too afraid of failing?

These questions have been on my mind a lot lately, because I am stepping out of my boat to go to the Jerusalem Center, and sometimes I've wondered, as we all do when faced with such crises, if I really can do it, if I will fail in some way, if it's the wisest decision...knowing the whole while that it will be one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Fear seems to be on the verge of crippling me and holding me back, but to not act and to not step out onto this journey would keep me from "seeing colors" and experiencing meaningful aspects of life that could forever change my life. So my final message to you, reader, and to myself is: Don't give up. Don't let the fear of vulnerability, pain, and failure keep you in your confining comfort boats. Step out and live a truly meaningful life filled with color and depth.