This page is part of “Meaning”, which is part of “Creating a New Positive Religion or Spiritual Tradition”.
This is still a DRAFT.
Meaning that comes from who we become and what we bring out of ourselves.
Personal growth
We can develop ourselves and our personality: learn how to become better people, who fulfill our potential for admirable character traits such as generosity, caring, courage, optimism, resourcefulness, curiosity, creativity, responsibility, and more. The guiding question is: “Who do I want to be?” Such growth usually happens outside our comfort zone, when we challenge ourselves (and sometimes life brings us a challenging situation even without our asking for it).
Talents
We can discover the creative talents hidden within us, develop and nurture them, and use them to give our unique gift to the world. Doing something we feel we are good at can fill us with satisfaction and a sense of meaning.
Exploring
We can explore and try to discover the truth about ourselves and about reality (the world, the universe, people), learn to distinguish between facts and illusions or wishful thinking, and rid ourselves of superstitions and prejudices. Only in this way can we increase the chance that our beliefs and actions will benefit rather than harm ourselves and others. When we manage to better understand reality and the universe, we also feel more connected to them.
Creating
Creating something new, building, bringing something into being out of nothing, can give us great satisfaction, especially when other people enjoy or benefit from what we have created.
One kind of creation is expressing our feelings, ideas, opinions, values, and beliefs in writing, in video, or in painting. This allows us to present our inner world to others, and in this way to connect with the inner worlds of other people. This creation leads to responses and feedback from others, and this fruitful dialogue allows us to better understand these ideas and refine them.