Actively Value Your Experiences

Sometimes I’ll see clients struggling to find purpose in their lives. They are longing for meaning and depth. They will read lots of books and wisdom, but they never find what they are looking for there. The Dalai Lama frames it this way: "Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day." The one who makes a life meaningful is you. Not because of what actions you take, but the value you ascribe to your life, your experiences. You need to savor the life in front of you, explore it, find the depth in the world. Therapy can help you in that endeavor, because we pause and really pay attention and notice how different moments make you feel, discuss what interpretations you place upon yourself and what is around you, and give you the pen to really author the meaning you intend to make of it. If you want meaning from your life, notice what meaning you’ve already ascribed to it, and change how you make sense of it all.

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day."

~ Dalai Lama