Meaning and Purpose: The Foundations of Resilience
- Dr. Tom Wagner
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
You may not be able to avoid the stress in front of you—but you can reconnect with what anchors you. This reflection explores how purpose and meaning help you meet challenges with steadiness.
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From Post-Traumatic Stress to Post-Traumatic Growth: Perspectives on Extracting Meaning from Adversity
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Meaning and Purpose: The Foundations of Resilience
These past couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about resilience even more than usual. Why? Well…my phone was stolen. Even just typing those words reminds me of the terrifying piano keystrokes that accompany a horror movie’s build-up to a jump scare. Since then, I’ve had to face the fact that I didn’t commit my phone ID number to memory, or even to an intelligent storage method. Consequently, I haven’t been able to fully reconnect with the cloud that holds my information. The signature feelings that go with that admission? One part humiliation to two parts anxiety. The anxious part reminds me of how I felt in April of 2020 when the lockdown was just announced—so many unknowns—including whether or not I could practice my profession from a distance.
In the middle of my attempts to sort out my current phone mess, it occurs to me that, all things being equal, in the Suffering Olympics of Life, a severed connection to the Internet won’t even begin to get you a bronze medal, much less a silver or gold. Nonetheless, the visceral experience of ongoing anxiety associated with this weird brand of chaos has given me a connection to those lockdown feelings of six years ago. This afternoon, our Sunday Morning Café event presenter, Dr. Tim Bono, will provide a way for participants to go back to past challenging situations in their lives, to recall wisdom that they picked up during those times. In the spirit of that approach, this week, I thought I’d share a video that SMC produced during the lockdown of 2020. My intention back then was to help my readers/listeners find the core of their own resilience to get through the layers of stress during that time. Life is funny that way. Whether petite, medium, or grande, it seems that life always has a challenge in store for you and me. I hope the video, which you’ll find below, can give you a hand with whatever you’re sorting out these days.
And here’s a little wisdom that I’ve picked up recently: never ever leave your cell phone in the car! Thanks for reading and listening!
Dialogue and Discussion Questions:
Longtime SMC readers know that “the Dialogue” section of this article is set aside for a good conversation over a cup of coffee—with a friend, with a group, or just with yourself! As always, feel free to share your reaction or reflection in the “Comments” section below.
The video made the claim that a person’s calling, or purpose, can evolve and change over the years. Consider the stage in life where you find yourself. Consider the various networks of people in your life with whom you are connected. What would you say is your primary calling, or purpose in this time, and in this place in your life? Can you notice how that calling or purpose has evolved, or changed?
What are the experiences, behaviors, and practices that help you connect to your sense of purpose and meaning?
In his book, The Unconscious God, Viktor Frankl said that a person’s calling is more discerned than chosen, more accepted than selected. What does your process for discernment look like? Do you have anyone in your life who serves the purpose of walking alongside you as you discern your path(s)?
What are the exercises that help you connect to what’s deepest within you? In my Christian tradition, it would be called the “God within,” or “Christ within.” The great Twentieth Century theologian, Bernard Lonergan named it, “Holy Mystery.” Paul Tillich called it, “Ultimate Meaning.” Ralph Waldo Emerson called it “The Transcendent." Whatever names you use, how do you connect to what’s deepest within you?
Please share with the SMC community your thoughts and/or reflections in the comments below.
Comments