Meaningfulness

Meaningfulness, a belief that things in life are interesting, motivating in which we do brings a feeling of satisfaction. Without it, finding fulfilment in what we do is hard. The last year has been very difficult for many, with this week being particularly distressing. People have looked forward to being with their families to share Christmas together. However, government decision-making continues to move in incomprehensible ways, making it difficult for many to cope. I’m sad when I think that I’ve not got any family to speak of, but meaningfulness comes through being motivated to help others. In challenging times, it helps me cope.
 
I’m a thinker. I think deeply about what shapes the behaviour of others and what I can do to help them achieve their potential. For most of (western) history, it was believed that the world was the centre of the universe. This theory is called geocentrism.  Whilst such a theory seems quite ridiculous now, most humans are guilty of a very similar and personal fallacy. Because our thoughts, feelings and emotions are centred in the brain, we often tacitly believe that we are the centre of the universe. Cognitive biases, that help us make decisions quickly and keep us safe, also mean that very many people act in self-interest. That inner voice shouts “what’s good for me is for the common weel too” regardless of where the locus of truth sits. The mind also constructs beliefs which suggest that those who have less than us are deserving of their misfortune and those with more are undeserving.
 
The reality is that humans are social creatures and our behaviours are influenced through interactions with other people. However, the rich and powerful exert forces upon humanity that push humanity in directions that damage the planet and our experiences on it. As you can probably gather, I was thinking a lot on my walk today. It took me along the banks of the Water of Leith. Whilst I was hoping to see an exciting bird or maybe even an otter, everywhere I looked were plastic bags and rubbish attached to trees. This made me sad.
 
The Gormley statues always make me think too. Stood in the river, they provide objective measures of river level, influenced by many things including human induced global warming. But such art has another purpose. It allows us to peel back parsimonious levels of consciousness that allow us to experience the world differently. Maybe just for a fleeting moment and sometimes for longer. The statue made me think about the impermanence of existence today. Whilst we’ll all eventually die, the likelihood is that the shit-show that is hurting so many people at the moment will end shortly and things will get better. In the meantime, we can all look out for each other and try not to put ourselves in the centre of our universe.