Each one of us has an unique place in the universal scheme of things – and we need to accept it with deep gratitude. And no matter what is this place, we need to avoid all mental tendencies to escapism.

I am sure we all know people who wish to be someone else, or to live someone else’s life. The more they think along these lines, the worse they feel about themselves and their current position. Unknowingly, they abuse the creative energy of their imagination which could be applied to transformation of their circumstances. So, it is in our best interests not to escape (for it is impossible anyway), but to assume the full responsibility for who we are and where we are.

“But I have no chances to succeed at my place”, could someone say. Such one mistakenly assumes that success depends on favorable conditions. The power of success resides within each one of us. It is the universal force which propels us toward the successful accomplishment of divinely inspired goals. This force often brings to us the necessary help from outside and makes us aware of “times and seasons” when we need to act – yet its main activity is within, not without. A person that is not mentally prepared for success, won’t achieve much even in the best circumstances.

So, don’t despise the place where you are now – be grateful for it. As we mentioned before, gratitude is joy and rapture which we experience when we discern inherent goodness of a thing, a person, or an event. When we moan and complain about our “lot in life”, we make ourselves blind to divine goodness – and divine opportunities all around us. Gratitude is the great eye-opener.

Be grateful for your place is the universal scheme of things. In other words, enlarge your mental horizon and put yourself into the universal framework. Do not think of yourself in the small way. You are a child of the universe, and your life has universal meaning.

This is something that you have simply by the right of existence. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to be chosen for it. If we are alive, we belong to the universe – and the universe with all its treasures belongs to us.

We do not have to perceive the world as a dangerous and threatening place. As we become enlightened, we come to the realization that many of the things we’re afraid of were created by our fears. Our fears became materialized – but our love and gratitude will dissolve those morbid creations. It has been said that all things work together for good of individuals that love the good and recognize their place in the universal scheme of things.

There is no way to prove it rather than to act upon this formula – just like there is no way to learn to swim rather than to step into water. Courage to live lovingly and gratefully comes from spiritual awareness, and it has to be daily reinforced by our actions.

Be grateful for all the blessings which you have right now, right where we are. Let your thoughts and self-talk be positive, loving, generous. Keep positive images in your mind – and you will create a mental magnet which will attract to you greater good and fulfill the desires of your heart. Gratitude is neither submission nor resignation – it is the great transformative power.

The mistake of moaners and complainers is that they are mostly unaware of their power to create greater good. They miss the vital dynamism and the flexibility of life. They see their circumstances as static – as something which is imposed on them, either by God, or by “fate”, or by the society. When they awaken, they will see that their troubles are but results of ignorance.

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor’, said Henry Thoreau. He was profoundly right.

For so long many of us were taught that some of our character traits, thoughts, desires, and inclinations are “evil”. We were instructed to fight against them – or, at least, to hide them from others. No wonder it is difficult for so many people to accept themselves, and to be grateful for who they are. Their souls are like a “house divided against itself”.

Such is their philosophy of life: life is about a never-ending battle between “good” and “evil”. Perhaps we agreed with this notion, too. But why don’t we stop for a moment and think: did this attitude toward life make us happy? We might be surprised to notice that the opposite is true: our happiest moments were when we forgot about fighting within and without, relaxed, and allowed the flow of life to carry us forward.

When we were happy, we weren’t passive – yet our activity proceeded from the inner core of our being. It was not conditioned by outward conditions or rules of conduct imposed on us. We joyfully responded to inner urges. We allowed ourselves to be who we are, without fear or reservations.

All happy people live in such a way – whether consciously or instinctively. And no matter how unhappy we might feel at the present moment, we all can implement the same principles – and tap into the universal wellspring of happiness.

First of all, we need to reconcile with ourselves and to realize that every part of our being is valuable and has its purpose. There is no inherent evil within us. All so-called “evil” is but concealed good – or, rather, undeveloped and immature good. It is pointless to judge immature aspects. Let them grow and unfold their full potential! We do not condemn a child for not being as strong and as smart as an adult.

Be consciously grateful for who you are. Do not take yourself, or any of your qualities and possessions for granted. You will learn from your own experience that focused gratitude dissolves tensions and inner conflicts, brings peace and happiness.

Being grateful for who you are doesn’t mean that you should feel superior to others. It does not mean that you should become unaware about the mistakes you make, or areas where growth is needed. Yet when you look within yourself, dare to love yourself regardless seeming imperfections. They are not the limits of who you truly are and what you can be.

Be grateful for your mind – for your ability to think, to analyze, to invent new things, and to stay connected with God’s mind.

Be grateful for your emotions – for your ability to love, to forgive, to be happy, to enjoy the beauty of the world, and to be one with the loving heart of God.

Be thankful for your body – for your ability to live and move in the world, to interact with the universe in so many meaningful ways.

Be thankful for your past – it helped you to become who you are. God was present within you and your experiences even if you haven’t realized it. Be thankful for your present – for your ability to live into the eternal NOW. You are the master of your life – through your ability to decide, to make choices, to direct your attentions.

Finally, be thankful for your Divine nature. You are not mere “flesh-and-blood” – you are a spiritual being, the image and likeness of God. Recognize this great fact – and be thankful for it. Be thankful for your inner light which shines upon all your ways. Be thankful for the power of the Spirit which allows you to transcend all seeming limitations. Divine goodness resides within you. You are made of God, and you as you become more aware of this fact, you will gradually move toward the desired fulfillment.

Let me suggest you six most important themes for developing gratitude. I will present them as affirmations:

I am grateful for all Life.
I am grateful for who I am.
I am grateful for my unique place in the universal scheme of things.
I am grateful for all my relationships.
I am grateful for my abundant provision.
I am grateful for the unknown.

First things first: in order to bring tangible results in our life, gratitude should be all-encompassing. In other words, we need to be grateful for all there is, without any exceptions. I do realize that it is a high goal, and not so many of us will achieve it in this lifetime – yet we should always aspire to this ideal. It is far much better to move into the right direction slowly, one step at a time, than not move at all.

The fact is, if we are grateful only for so-called “good” things and experiences, we act much like a farmer that blesses full-grown plants but curses seeds which are still in the ground. But no wise farmer will ever curse seeds. Seeds, once they are planted and properly taken care of, will spring forth, grow, and become fruitful plants.

We mentioned before that gratitude allows us to see that there is an inherent goodness within every person, thing, or event. This goodness might not be evident. Looking at some things, we often label them as “bad”, “dangerous”, “destructive”, and so forth. But could it be that we just don’t see them in depth – as they truly are – and because of this we cannot establish proper relationships with them? Could it be that great spiritual teachers of the past were right?

Inherent goodness of all things is the teaching of all mystical traditions. The Baal Shem Tov, a famous Jewish mystic, said:

«There is no act, word or thought in which the essence of divinity is not constricted and hiding.

And so when you look and see with your mind’s eye, you will see the inner, life-force aspect of everything, not just its outer, superficial layer. You will see nothing but the divine power inside all things that is giving them life, being and existence at every moment.

And when you listen carefully to the inner voice within any physical sound that you hear, you will hear only the voice of God as, at that moment, it is literally giving life and existence to the sound that you are hearing».

In the gospel of Thomas Jesus says, in essence, the same thing – God is present in all Life. And since God is the ultimate goodness, the same goodness is present everywhere.

“I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained.
Split a piece of wood; I am there.
Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.”

Mysticism is not about escaping from the world into a realm of illusions. It has nothing to do with despising the world or struggling against it. True mysticism is about loving the world deeper than any materialist could ever do.

A mystic sees no so-called “dead matter”. He/she recognizes that every thing is alive and vibrant with God’s life. But as the gospel of Thomas suggests, it takes “lifting up stones” and “splitting pieces of wood” to achieve that perception.

Gratitude is the art of directed attention. When we look at certain thing, we might not discern its goodness – but let us look with intensity and an open heart. Let us say to ourselves: “I recognize that this thing is a part of the great Whole. It has its being in God – just like me. I am willing to let go my though patterns and preconceived ideas about thins thing, my resentment to it, and to search for true understanding. Let my inner eyes be enlightened. May I see the presence of God within this thing – the same presence that is within me”.

In the last year we touched the subject of meaningful life. Someone might ask a reasonable question: what are signs of a person who lives meaningfully? How does he or she look like?

One thing is certain – meaningful life is not directly correlated with outward accomplishments of a particular kind. Psychologists could tell us many stories about their patients who are successful in their work, yet suffer from inner emptiness and turmoil. Their lives are compartmentalized: although they know principles which make them winners and achievers, they are far from being whole and fulfilled.

I think that the foremost quality of a person who lives meaningfully is peace. This peace transcends current experiences of an individual, so it is possible for him/her to be peaceful even if things aren’t going well. A person is at peace with himself/herself, the Higher Power, and with the whole world. And the next vitally important quality of such happy individual is gratitude.

Gratitude is not just about being nice and polite. It comes from deep understanding of the nature of things.

Gratitude is not something that we do when we feel like it. It is not something that we do in obedience to some religious law in order to avoid sufferings and to earn blessings. Gratitude is the way we perceive our relationships with whole life.

So, what is gratitude? It is joy and rapture which we experience when we discern inherent goodness of a thing, a person, or an event.

Some people insist that only believers in God can be truly grateful. I understand their point, but I think that their vision of reality is slightly distorted. They make the same mistake as those who say that only believers in a certain doctrine can be truly loving. You just have to look around carefully enough to become convinced that it is not true.

Gratitude comes not from our minds and ideas contained therein, but from our innermost being, from our divine nature. Even unbelievers possess this nature. We all live, move, and have our being within God.  Yet we can make a conscious decision to stay attuned to the spirit of gratitude, and to give it outward expression. We will learn from our experience that gratitude is one of the most important life’s dynamics which contributes to our happiness and fulfillment.

If we are uncertain which way to go, gratitude will show us the best path. If we are ambiguous how we can ever achieve success, gratitude will multiply all good things in our world. It will attract to us even greater blessings from the storehouse of the universe.

Some people object to that. They think that an attitude of gratitude is counterproductive, because if a person is perfectly satisfied with everything, he/she doesn’t want to improve life. He/she accepts things which are actually unacceptable. Could this criticism be justified?

It seems that those remarks come from people who never gave themselves to the practice of gratitude. Therefore, their position is the one of a casual observer. They really haven’t experienced that which they judge. For true gratitude never leads us to resignation and never makes us passive.

The same innermost being from which our gratitude flows, is the source of creative ideas and urges to move on in our outward expression. It is the new dimension of opportunities and resources at our disposal. All those who tap into that source never become disappointed with it.

As I mentioned before, there is no need to be an adherent of a certain doctrine in order to be grateful. Yet consciousness development of gratitude is certainly a spiritual experience.

There is one more secret of meaningful life which I would like to mention: we should not be guided by feelings or judge by appearances. There are times when we feel that our life is meaningless and empty. Should we accept those testimonies as the final judgment? Certainly not. As we continue to move forward, a new meaning will dawn for us.

The same thing often happens with our work. We begin a certain project, we dedicate our time and efforts to it, but it seems that we don’t succeed at all. At this stage, some people decide that it is better for them leave this plan and move on to something else. They aren’t passionate enough about this project and do not have their will developed in sufficient measure in order to follow it through. But this is a lousy and an ignorant attitude which can never make anyone successful in anything.

Nothing happens instantly. There is always time between planting of seeds and reaping the full harvest. There is always time between starting of a project and its completion. There is always time between searching and finding – including our search for meaning.

Meaningful life is not to be taken for granted. The meaning of our life is not always evident. The old saying still holds true: “Seek, and you will find”.

Not so long ago I received a message from a lady who wrote: “Once I felt that my life is meaningful, but now this feeling is gone. Why did it happen? What is the problem with me?” Frankly, I don’t know what the case with her is – she did not give me enough information to analyze. Every person is a complicated and multidimensional being, and we should not settle for simplistic answers in dealing with others. Yet there are universal principles which work for all people; and there are directions where we may look for possible answers when difficulties arise.

From my own experience I learned that life is the path of ascension. We ascend form meaning to meaning, and it is quite natural that things which were important and meaningful at some point of our life lose their value for us. Perhaps we tried to settle at one place which we liked (and I mean a mental place, not a physical one), forgetting that life is a journey. Yet life always prevails and forces us to move if we aren’t willing to do so of our own accord.

There is a positive way to look at our discontent and seeming unhappiness. Those feelings are promises that there is something greater waiting for us. It is up to us to rise up and walk forward and to discover new meaning of our life.

The worst thing we may do to is to sit and wait for something to happen or for someone to come and “save” us from our miseries. The desired transformation will come from within, not from without. We are masters of our lives. We are to choose, to make up our minds.

So, even if our life looks empty at the present moment, let us not think that it is over. There is no absolute darkness; there is always a glimpse of light. Can we see it now? Let us look carefully enough, and we will notice it. Let us then stay focused on it. Let a small desire become a dream; let a dream become a passion; let a passion be translated into an action. Let us become engaged in creative work which stimulates us, challenges us – and leaves us no time to feel sorry about ourselves. At this point we should not look for immediate fulfillment – it will come in due season. Our goal to gain a momentum.

At the same time, let us observe our inner and outer life – and be flexible. Certain things looked meaningful and important at certain periods of our development, but now they exhausted themselves. So, why should we drag them around forever? Let us not hesitate to let go of things, relationships, and even ideas and beliefs which do not add value to our life.

In the coming year, I wish every one of you to enter into more abundant and more meaningful life. Let us travel from meaning to meaning!

I mentioned earlier that meaningful life for me involves non-attachment to particular forms of my inner and outer expression at any given moment. Non-attachment is a hidden ingredient of meaningful life which most people don’t realize – yet it makes all the difference in the long run.

“Let go, and let God”. This well-known phrase summarizes the essence of non-attachment. “Let go, and let God”. I don’t know exactly who said it first, but that person was a genius.

Letting go has to do with recognition of the transient nature of life. I repeat it often, because this truth cannot be overemphasized: life always moves. It cannot stand still. Energy is never lost, but it is always translated into other forms and goes to another planes. No our possession, no our relation, no our achievement is permanent.

What does it mean to let go? Don’t cling – even to things and to people you love with all your heart. Don’t grasp. These attempts are vain and fruitless, and they lead to sufferings.

People often pray to God, asking to approve their clinging and grasping. They wish to keep something or someone with them – and when it doesn’t happen, they blame God, as if the Divinity has to fulfill their whims. This is why I have to agree with Emerson that most of prayers are foolish. According to him, “prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view”. One of these facts is that we cannot keep anything as our private possession forever. We will have to let it go.

In many cases we cling and grasp because of our insecurity, which is rooted in an illusion of separate existence. If we have a notion that we are separate beings, estranged from the world and alienated from God, we desperately look for something or someone which will make us complete, whole, and fulfilled. Once we decided that we have found it, we guard and protect it. And by doing so, we misuse things which are potentially good.

It might be a shocking realization for some individuals, but by clinging to other people they abuse them. True relationships imply freedom from attachments and willingness to let go when the time comes.

Do not fear, because fear turns to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Don’t be afraid to be left alone, lacking, or unfulfilled. You are an integral part of the rich and generous universe; and all of its resources will be freely given to you when you will align to the universal laws.

Letting go reduces stress which we experience because of our compulsive attempts to hold on to something or someone, to “fix” other persons or seemingly troublesome situations. Letting go makes us inwardly poised, and it becomes easier for us to stay opened to the divine inspiration. When we follow this intuitive guidance, our actions are more effective. We steadily move to even greater achievements and relationships.

Let go, and let no good thing ever keep you from greatness.

As we let go, we let God to bless us in a new and exiting way. People who complain that there is no advancement in their life should carefully consider whether they cling to something, therefore making their progressive movement impossible.

Finding a meaning of life is an inside job – yet it affects all our relationships with others, making them enriching and fulfilling. As we come to the knowledge of ourselves, grow, and express ourselves, we make our unique contribution to the universal evolution.

The whole world is made in such a way that all things are interconnected. Separate existence is an illusion. If we are alive, we are part of the universal whole. Therefore, it is quite natural thing for us to make the difference, to affect the world in positive ways.

If that is true, why so many people experience difficulties in their relationships with others, and with the world in general? One of the reasons is that the flow of creative energy through them is restricted because of offences and resentments. People blame their life and “accidents” which happen with them. They blame other people and count their faults. What is the result? Their own condition only becomes worse.

Would you like to know how an ignorant person looks like? That one always complains about his/her misfortunes, and at the same hopes for “miraculous deliverance” to happen. As Richard Bach wisely said, “The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly”.

When we are enlightened, we see justice and meaning in all things. We know that the universe is not chaotic. It is governed by laws – and we learn to apply these laws for our benefit. We aren’t looking for ways to avoid our responsibility for our world and for constructive interaction with it.

“The messengers and the prophets will come to you and give you what belongs to you. You, in turn, give them what you have, and say to yourselves, ‘When will they come and take what belongs to them?”, says Jesus in the gospel of Thomas.

Here is one of the great secrets of life: no person comes to us accidently. All encounters are meaningful. Every person we meet is an angel in disguise, a messenger from God. He/she brings us a gift. What kind of gift? Let us look and we will see. And if we don’t see it at once, let us look deeper.

Sometimes, their gift could be a challenge to us – to become smarter, stronger, more patient, more loving. Should we deny this gift? Sometimes, their gift could be a question. Should we deny this gift? When we are wise, we know that questions often are of greater importance than answers.

Here is another great secret of life: no matter who you are, no matter how insignificant you seem to be, you are a God’s angel to others. It is up to you to “give them what you have”. Of course, it doesn’t make you superior. It does not give you rights to become preachy or to intrude into lives of others. Offer your gift – the best of what you have within – but don’t take it as a personal offence if your gift is seemingly ignored, rejected, of misused. Handling of that gift is that person’s business, not yours. Your business is to take good care about gifts which belong to you.

Love never violates the freedom of others, but encourages it. Love is generous enough to embrace the fact that God loves and protects others, giving them unlimited opportunities to experience divine abundance.

Growth is the supreme law of life. Every living thing grows – including a human being. And even when our physical development stops, we still progress and unfold at other levels, such as mental, emotional, and spiritual. We acquire new knowledge, learn new skills, and express ourselves in greater measure. The problem with most people, however, is that mostly their growth is not conscious – they are forced to grow in order to find a job and make a living, to establish and to keep a family, to become an esteemed and respected member of the society, and so forth. And they are not willing to go beyond that which is necessary. When they are not pressured to become successful in some area, they easily become content with a usual routine, or even regress. At the same time they might feel meaningless of their life – failing to connect this emotional state with lack of passion for growth.

Once we realize that growth is the law, not an option, we can make conscious steps toward unfoldment and expression of our inner potential.

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you will kill you”, says Jesus in the gospel of Thomas. Unexpressed gifts and talents “kill” us by blocking our living connection with God, the Source of all life and all power. When it happens we become dry, our day-to-day existence becomes boring. Being estranged from the fullness of life and happiness, we call it “an unrealistic fantasy”.

If we came to a conclusion that growth is necessary, we will easily find directions where to go and what to do by looking within. In quiet meditation, we may open ourselves to the inflow of divine ideas and the inspiration from the Spirit. We will feel divine restlessness – an urge to do new things, to explore new dimensions, to look expand our knowledge.

Of course, fear will stand on our way. At times we might become afraid of losing blessings which are already ours. We might suffer from insecurity and loneliness. But let us remind ourselves that we keep our balance while we move, not while we stand still. A fearful person will never be a winner in life’s game. By avoiding a temporary discomfort, that one misses greatest benefits.

Growth implies courage to move beyond our petty fears and anxieties into a new world of adventures and discoveries.

Overcome fear by staying focused on love. Love life, and you won’t be afraid to explore it. Love yourself, and you won’t be afraid to unfold your potential. As you contemplate an idea of growth, always take love into the consideration.

Of course, there could be unhealthy manifestations of growth which are similar to growth of cancer cells in a human body. Some people strive to become wealthier by taking away from others. Some people wish to have more power, to become more popular or sexually attractive in order to manipulate others and to take advantage of them. But greedy, power-hungry, and obsessive individuals do not enjoy divinely ordained growth – their apparent success is but temporary. Those people are not happy, because their unloving ways betray their fear and deep-seated resentment. If they could only allow themselves to grow in love, their lives would be miraculously transformed.

Growth implies sincere love and giving of ourselves without any thought of selfish gain or return – but with knowledge that the universe will amplify our efforts and brings us back divine abundance.

Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three alone lead life to sovereign power.
Tennyson

As I said earlier, a vital part of meaningful life for me is striving to know myself better. I am also convinced that we all know ourselves in some measure. No person is completely ignorant, for complete ignorance would make one unable to live. Truth is the essence of life, and the fact that we are alive indicates a degree of alignment with the truth. This is a comforting fact. At the same time we are urged to never become self-satisfied, but to move from our present degree of understanding to a greater degree by clearing away false ideas about who we are. In this process, our life becomes happier and more meaningful.

There is nothing new about an exhortation to know ourselves. At the entrance of the Delphos temple there was an inscription: “Oh man, know yourself and you will know the Universe and the Gods.” Self-knowledge was taught by Socrates, and later by Plato. In the mystical gospel of Thomas, Jesus said: “When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty.”

People were slow to respond to this call, partly because it takes intellectual courage to know ourselves. Our ego doesn’t want to take a risk and to step beyond a comfort zone of its own preconceived ideas. The greatest value of ego is security; so it finds refuge in following traditions, in accepting religious dogmas, and even in compulsive outward activity which leaves no time for a person to think. This is true for most of humanity. Yet there were sages and prophets like Socrates, Jesus, and many others who dared to live differently. They launched into an inner journey and discovered a bright and shining world. Why shouldn’t we join their company?

What will we find within ourselves in the process of self-discovery? Let me suggest several ideas which I proved in my own experience and which were proven by many other spiritual seekers. Again, they cannot give a complete picture of our true nature, but can serve as a useful blueprint for further exploration and practical application of these principles.

First, we will know that there is a hidden core of our being. It is known by various names, such as soul, spirit, superconsciousness, indwelling Christ, divine nature, and so forth. It doesn’t matter how we call it as long as we recognize its existence and its permanence. This core of our being is not conditioned by outside forces and influences, by our inheritance or upbringing. Even more, this core of our being is one in essence with the Source of all things.

“Man is a stream whose source is hidden. Always our being is descending into us from we know not whence”, said Emerson.

Second, we will know that there are gifts and qualities within ourselves which long for their expression. While living at the superficial level, we did not know how talented or capable we are. And we will also realize that in order to be true to ourselves we need to express our potential in full measure.

Third, we will know that we are works in progress – just like the world is a work in progress. Our inner core expresses divine perfection – but our mind and emotions yet have to be aligned with that which is true about us. Our conscious mind should be transformed through the inflow of divine ideas. Our emotions should be balanced. Our will should be centered at a desired goal. Our body should be brought to vitality and wholeness.

Human beings aren’t static – they always change, either willingly or unwillingly. If we know ourselves and our power to rule ourselves, we won’t be threatened by changes. Instead, we will play our part in bringing about changes which will raise the quality of our life.

Not so long ago one person asked me what is the meaning of life for me. Questions like that always give you an opportunity to connect to your highest ideas which you might often forget in the course of your days – this is why I treat them seriously. Here is the answer I gave:

“The meaning of life for me is striving for deeper knowledge of myself and for unfoldment at all levels of my personality, for creative self expression through which I make my unique contribution into the universal evolution. At the same time, meaningful life for me involves non-attachment to particular forms of my inner and outer expression at any given moment”.

Of course, it is a generalization and not all-inclusive or final formula, but it was a good starting point for further discussion. I am aware that many other people have totally different ideas concerning the meaning of life. But no matter what is our understanding, we are to find this meaning.

Victor Frankl, the professor of psychiatry and a Holocaust survivor emphasized this urgent need in his well-known book “Man’s Search for Meaning”.  According to him, “Man’s search for meaning is a primary force in his life and not a “secondary rationalization” of instinctual drives. The meaning is unique and specific and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance that will satisfy his own will to meaning… There is nothing in the world that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is meaning in one’s life”. He traced a connection between meaningless of one’s existence and such problems as psychosomatic health disorders, relationship difficulties, and even suicides. The opposite is true as well: people who live meaningfully live longer, enjoy better health and greater success.

According to Frankl, “the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour”. That’s why I am convinced that every person have to search for meaning on his/her own.

Quite often others tell us what the meaning of life is. Their words might sound convincing, but what do we think ourselves? Does our heart agree? If opinions of others don’t satisfy us, let us find our own answers and see whether they will be more suitable for us. But we need to begin this search with an assumption that life is meaningful, even if we don’t fully realize it yet.

The search for meaning, essentially, is a path or ascension. As we grow in wisdom and awareness, we may ascend from a lower meaning to a greater meaning. Whatever we accept as our meaning, let us stick to it – until the course of events will disclose to us something more appealing.

Sometimes we hear that God gives the ultimate meaning to human existence. But this statement frequently brings confusion rather than clarity. And the biggest question is, what is God?

Believers are ready to explain that God is this, or God is that. Atheists and skeptics insist that it cannot be true. These arguments could be insightful, or at least entertaining, but as I observe them I often have a feeling that both sides don’t hear each other. Often I have a feeling that both sides have something valuable to say. Often I have a feeling that both sides are wrong.

My approach is different, and it helps to avoid endless and fruitless discussions abut the nature of God. In our search for better life, let us begin not with God, but with meaning. Let us accept that our life and the world in general are meaningful. Let us accept that our relationships with the world are meaningful. As we ponder upon an idea of meaning, it will become gradually revealed to us. It will be confirmed our experiences. Our understanding will grow even further, and it would be possible for us to recognize the universal order – and to identify it with God.