Meaning Finds Us Where We Don’t Seek It
How Suffering Can Move Us Forwards Instead of Overwhelming Us
Distressing situations cannot be glossed over with cheap consolation. But painful situations can also have positive effects: They awaken our compassion and solidarity for fellow human beings and nature; they serve as signals and wake-up calls for changes that may have been long overdue; they sensitise us to structures that cause suffering; and they allow us to discover our life tasks that we would have either not discovered – or would have discovered much later – without this difficult experience. In such distressing situations, meaning can alight upon us unexpectedly like a butterfly, especially when we are not frantically searching for meaning in our suffering. This book takes us to the places in life where we least expect to find meaning and significance: boredom and powerlessness, fear and worry, poverty and injustice, conflict and envy, breakups and separations, disappointments and loneliness, criticism and a lack of freedom, failure and stress, guilt and grief, as well as illness, old age and death.
- Openness to meaning can be learned
- A healing shift in perspective
- Meaning is revealed even in difficult situations
