Friday, September 25, 2009

Meaning

When I was a young man, I was proud to know the meaning of a thing. Of course that pride was in remembering what someone had taught me. Later in life, I was proud to find the meaning of a thing on my own.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized that all concepts of meaning are made up. There is no inherent meaning to a thing other than what we give it. That is not to say that something can’t have meaning. It is just important to know our role in what that meaning has become. Remember this the next time you are upset over spilled milk.

2 comments:

  1. A Twitter friend related a story in an interview of a spiritual quest in the Southwestern U.S.. On one occasion there was a very sober and stoic native American with whom he had spent the day. As the sun was going down a red tailed hawk flew circles over the narrators head. He excitedly described the incident to the native American wanting to know the spiritual significance. "What does it mean, what does it mean?" he cried. The native American barely cracked a smile and said, "It means you have seen a hawk."

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