The Pursuit to a Meaningful Life

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Hey Girl Hey!

If you have been keeping up with me on Instagram, you’d know that this month will be the first month that I create content that is based around a theme. If you haven’t been following or are just unaware I want to share with you here as well. This blog post will allow me to further explain my reasoning for choosing this particular theme and also include tips to help you as well. I know your probably like girl, so what’s the theme. So, the theme for the month of July is “The Pursuit of Meaning.” How many times have you heard or read about people wanting to be happy or pursuing said journey to get to this happy place in life? I had to ask myself, what is happiness? What does it look like? (And if you’re seeking this happy place I encourage you to ask yourself the same thing as well). “You become happy by living a life that means something“a quote by American Rabbi Harold S. Kushner.

When we feel unmotivated, unsure, and uncertain instead of pursuing happiness have you ever sat down to reflect on whether or not what you’re doing is something that truly matters to you? Meaning is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future. The more meaningful our lives feel, the more joy we experience. My Pastor once shared with us one day in service that “We are only happy when our happenings are happening; once the happenings stop happening then we are no longer happy.” Basically,being happy is contingent upon something happening in our lives that is going our way. When circumstances change sometimes we also find our moods and also our determination and/or motivation shift as well.

We think achieving the next goal will make us happy.We thought more money would make us happier, but it didn’t, so we strive for even higher success. How much money does it take to be happy, we wonder? Whatever it is, it is probably more than we have. We usually make the mistake of thinking that happiness is related somehow to our circumstances. We think if our circumstances get better, we will be happy.Happiness has absolutely nothing to do with circumstances. Two people with identical circumstances can have vastly different levels of happiness. Someone asks you, “How are you doing today?” Your reply, “Not bad under the circumstances.” The trick is not to live under the circumstances. The Bible calls upon us to live happy regardless of the circumstances. Paul tells us it is our inheritance as Christians to be happy always.

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Fully understanding that everyone that reads this is NOT in the same place as I am spiritually I would like to let you know that I will not beat you over the head with scripture HOWEVER, you’re going to hear the word which is the truth because I am a believer and it is my job as a Christian to lead people to Christ but for me, that means meeting YOU right where you are. I have not arrived, far from it quite honestly but having a genuine relationship with God has saved my mind, my spirit, and my soul. In James 1:2-4 God tells us to “count it all Joy. My favorite version of this scripture comes from the message bible and it reads...

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“Consider it a sheer gift, friends,when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well developed, not deficient in any way.”  

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In the King James Version it says “Consider it pure joy.” We can count all things Joy because God is working in all situations,even the most painful. We are to consider what we are going through as a matter of joy.  Counting it all joy doesn’t imply that you’ll always be happy it means that regardless of what is going we should have joy and peace knowing that even in the midst God is working in all situations for our Good. With that being said, we should pursue meaning.Meaning brings about clarity, understanding, and purpose. All in which we receive from God. If you want to know how something works where do you go???? To the individual or manufacture that made it right? And so, it is the same with us. If we want to know our purpose, our meaning, receive wisdom, clarity, and knowledge we have to seek our creator the one who knows all. Before you leave,I want to share with you (5) ways for finding meaning in your life:

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1. Get in to the Word of God

It may sound cliché but it’s the truth.If you don’t know where to start, Google is your best friend. Whatever you’re going through type in the search bar: “What does God say about…?”

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2. Pursue your Why

Too many of us define our lives by what we do for a living rather than accepting what we do for a living as just apart of an overall purpose that guides our lives. Having a strong “why” can help us figure out “how”.

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3. Be Self Aware

Be aware of yourself and your actions. Remain mindful of what you do at all times, and make sure you are living life according to your principles, your passions, and your purpose.

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4. Focus

Rather than chasing 3 or 4 goals and making very little progress on them, place all of your energy on one thing.Focus. As you progress you add on additional goals little by little.

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5. Simplify Your Life

By simplifying your life, you’ll have more time to do what fulfills you and gives your life meaning. It also will help to alleviate stress and make managing life overall easier in addition to improving your productivity.

Listen, you or I won’t discover our life's work by wondering about it. And it doesn’t come fully formed. We’ll discover it by taking action, every day. As I write this to encourage you, I am being encouraged too. I am on this journey right along with you and I’m here to remind you that there’s no other way to go from here but up! I pray that you were encouraged. Leave a note for me in the comments I’d love to hear from and connect with you all.

XoXo,

Angie

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