Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Well-Said, Jordan Peterson

 On Page 199 of his book, 12 RULES FOR LIFE AN ANTIDOTE TO CHAOS, Jordan Peterson offers a sharp, brilliant definition of meaning: "Meaning emerges from the interplay between the possibilities of the world and the value structure operating within that world.  If the value structure is aimed at the Betterment of Being, the meaning revealed will be life-sustaining. It will provide the antidote for chaos and suffering. It will make everything matter. It will make everything better."

If we conduct our lives as if our values matter, as if we can make a difference, uplifting the world and ourselves, in the service of the Good Spirits, that is life-sustaining, and there meaning is found, and that is satisfying on many levels

On Page 201 he offers many lovely metaphors for meaning, but I like one from Page 200 the best: "Meaning signifies that you are in the right place, at the right time, properly balanced between order and chaos, where everything lines up as best it can at that moment."

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