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The Power of Meaning
The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters | Emily Esfahani Smith
18 posts | 17 read | 49 to read
In a culture obsessed with happiness, this wise, stirring book points the way toward a richer, more satisfying life. Too many of us believe that the search for meaning is an esoteric pursuitthat you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to discover lifes secrets. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around usright here, right now. To explore how we can craft lives of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith synthesizes a kaleidoscopic array of sourcesfrom psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists to figures in literature and history such as George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, and the Buddha. Drawing on this research, Smith shows us how cultivating connections to others, identifying and working toward a purpose, telling stories about our place in the world, and seeking out mystery can immeasurably deepen our lives. To bring what she calls the four pillars of meaning to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village in the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of profound loss, and more. She also introduces us to compelling seekers of meaningfrom the drug kingpin who finds his purpose in helping people get fit to the artist who draws on her Hindu upbringing to create arresting photographs. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture that leaves space for introspection and awe, cultivates a sense of community, and imbues our lives with meaning. Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a life that matters.
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Jen2
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Pickpick

Good.

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rebbyj
Pickpick

Excellent.

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Faibka
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“It‘s not some great revelation. It‘s pausing to say hi to a newspaper vendor and reaching out to someone at work who seems down.It‘s sitting in awe beneath a starry night sky and going to a medieval prayer service with friends. It‘s opening a coffee shop for struggling veterans. It‘s listening attentively to a loved one‘s story. It‘s taking care of a plant. These may be humble acts on their own. But taken together, they light up the world.” 💕

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Faibka
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“Part of the reason I feel lonely,” she said, “is because I don‘t tell people things. I hold my thoughts and feelings inside. This taught me that I should make more of a point of talking to others-and not just for me, but for them. When we tell our story, we do two things. We understand ourselves better and we offer support to people going through the same thing that we we‘re going through.”

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StaceGhost
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Pickpick

I didn‘t know how much I would need a message of love right now and this was perfect #uglycry

Texreader Poor little one!! 😘 5y
tracey38 ❤❤❤ 5y
23 likes2 comments
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Parvez
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Pickpick

The Book started with the importance of meaning in Life, Life of purpose, meaning rather than quest for happiness. And then how to find the meaning of our life, its pillars Belongings, Purpose, Story Telling & Transcendences. How to find the pillars of Meaning of life.

Louise The importance of meaning is the premise of Viktor Frankl‘s Logotherapy. Have you read his work? Man‘s Search For Meaning and The Will To Meaning are both excellent. There are some YouTube interviews with him too. He developed his ideas while in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Such a powerful story. (edited) 6y
Parvez @Louise yes, I have read it(Man's search for meaning),but a long time ago. Thinking of rereading it. 6y
Louise 👍 6y
43 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
Parvez

"Each of us has worked by improvisation, discovering the shape of our creation along the way.” Our identities and experiences, in other words, are constantly shifting. By taking the disparate pieces of our lives and placing them together into a narrative, we create a unified whole that allows us to understand our lives as psychologists say, is a key source of meaning.

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Parvez
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This wise, stirring book rounds up the latest research—and the words of great thinkers across generations—to argue that the search for meaning can immeasurably deepen our lives and is far more fulfilling than the pursuit of personal happiness.

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aettehadi
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Pickpick

This book life-transforming experience .Susan Cain

Another life story coming from sofi world and then , warm with big philosophers opinions and then you must be get meaning of life after reading this book .
Another book must be read in life .

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Gina
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This morning I heard this author on the radio. I pulled over and wrote down the book cuz I really loved the interview. This afternoon I found myself at BnN and asked for this book. They just received the shipment as I was asking and they pulled the book out of the box in back and brought it to me. OH HAPPY DAY!

BooksAndChopsticks I'm interested to know what you think! And how it compares to "What Happy People Know" (which I thought was too formulaic in its theories on how to lead a meaningful life) 7y
Gina @BooksAndChopsticks I will let you know. She did a great interview on NPR so I am hoping her writing holds to that standard. 7y
Louise Sounds like this book was meant to be yours! 7y
Gina @Louise I know, right! 7y
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Basement_Bookcase
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Mehso-so

While I did enjoy this book I wasn't wow-ed by it. There wasn't anything inspiring, no ah-ha moments. But It provides a lot of information and presents it in approachable way.

I was surprised by how many studies have been done on this topic and it was reassuring to know that lots of people are looking for meaning in their lives.

I still haven't found meaning in mine but I'm going to keep looking until I find it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

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Vikz
Mehso-so

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This book didn't blow me away. Much of the argument seemed obvious. But, it's a pleasant read and could be a great primer for those new to the subject.

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rjsthumbelina
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Anybody else use goodreads to track their number of books read in a year? This year I have been having issues with it not taking the dates read that I put in and not adding the books to my reading challenge! I wish litsy had an annual books read feature

Smrloomis I use it but there's some kind of bug. My challenge number says I've read one more book than I really have - weird. 8y
rjsthumbelina I guess I'm glad I'm not the only one having issues with it. But its so frustrating! I have to add dates to everything I have read 2-3 times before its included in my reading challenge number. 8y
Reviewsbylola I think I did an update last night and mine finally seems to be working correctly. 8y
rjsthumbelina Hopefully my update happens soon, then! Thanks for the potential good news @Reviewsbylola 8y
4 likes4 comments
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rjsthumbelina
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Pickpick

Let me start by saying that I love these sociology type of self-help-ish books. They're cool. I love the idea of why meaning is so important and how to find it. The evidence and stories made the book very fun to listen to on audio. I read it bc it was recommended on All the Books podcast, and I'm glad I did. Listened to on Audible

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dixi_e
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Hooked.

Curious to see how this might help adjust my PoV on livin'..

Kimzey Love this quotation! ❤️ 8y
dixi_e Me, too! Lovely and succinct. 8y
9 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post! This just-released positive psychology book is perfect for the new year! Smith argues that finding meaning in life is easier than thought, it can be found in everything around us. She looks at history & modern studies, and conducts interviews with a wide variety of folks, to conclude that meaning rests on 4 pillars: belonging, purpose, storytelling, transcendence. Sounds refreshing! 4 stars on GR! #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

CocoReads All right, I've added to my stack... plus we were challenged during church yesterday to spend time this week thinking about our purpose. Maybe this will provide a clue.... 8y
Lissa00 I thought this book was really well done. 8y
MrBook @CocoReads Glad I bring the confluence to you then 😆😎🙌🏻! @LissaReads 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻! 8y
LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 8y
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Lissa00
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Pickpick

I meant to just dip in and out of this book but ended up reading it straight through rather quickly. It is mostly a collection of snippets about how different people found meaning in their lives, often after experiencing tragedy and difficulty. I took away a lot from this book.

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Well-ReadNeck
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Panpan

Working my way through my #netgalley stack. Here's another that was fine, but not recommended. I was expecting more practical self-help (b/c subtitle) but this was reorganized retelling of information that I've read in other places with anecdotes and statistics to support her organizing principle. Not enough new material/ideas here to recommend. Might appeal to fans of Gretchen Rubin.