In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl asserts that we are all driven to find meaning in life. Sometimes I have trouble with this concept as so much of what goes on today seems meaningless. However, I just recently realized that this may not be the case. Something that’s meaningful to me might not be meaningful to you and vice versa. So any action, gesture, or speech act can be incredibly meaningful to the right person.
As with communication rhythms and The 5 Love Languages, I think that there can be some difficulty when two people find different things meaningful interact. Someone who loves deep conversations might have trouble relating to someone who prefers lighthearted exchanges, someone who wants to have kids probably wouldn’t be a good match for someone who wants no kids, a nomad may not see eye-to-eye with a person who has lived in one place their whole life, etc. It can be difficult to tell what someone finds meaningful until a good while after meeting them, so early interactions can be awkward until two people either find some way to connect with each other or realize they don’t connect and look for other people who will understand them.
It’s interesting to think about my own interactions with other people and how they’ve changed over time. With some people, I’ve found out just how much I have in common with them and we’ve gradually become closer as we’ve gotten to know each other better. With others, it seemed like we had a lot in common initially but later found out that our interests overlap only slightly. Figuring out who I really click with and who I don’t has vastly improved my interactions and made me more comfortable around those whom I see regularly. Additionally, realizing that everybody has their own idea of meaningfulness and may very well be pursuing it each day has reignited my hope and burned away some of the cynicism that had started growing in my subconscious. Now I’m much better able to enjoy the present and I’m even more optimistic for the future.