Are you experiencing a Crisis of Meaning? (Part 2)

Meaning

Jul 5

Note to reader: This is Part 2 of a two part series. See The Meaning Crisis – Part 1 here.

Surviving disruption

In Part 1 of the The Meaning Crisis, we summarized the three great upheavals that have sent society spinning since the end of World War II.

These were 1) the cultural struggles of the 60’s and 70’s, 2) the globalization of the economy during the 80’s and 90’s, and 3) the technology revolution of the 2000’s and 2010’s most exemplified by the expanding power of personal computing.

These upheavals generated a lot of change to the underlying fabric of society, resulting in increased anxiety and social disconnection – individually and collectively. Today, we continue to respond to those challenges as we grapple with the meaning of it all.

The quest for new meaning

All three of the primary components of meaning* are at play as we seek to ground ourselves and find new meaning in the midst of these changing times.

Figuring out what’s really going on. Getting a clear understanding of reality and the truth of the world in which we find ourselves.
Taking that understanding of reality and determining what precisely is most important—what truly matters—in the midst of our continual change.
Taking the knowledge of what really matters—what’s most relevant in our lives—and combining it with our understanding of what’s true in order to create direction on how to live our lives.

* See Part 1 of The Meaning Crisis for a more detailed description of the components of meaning-making and why they’re important).

As humans, we are continually taking our sense of reality and what matters to make decisions about how to live and what to do next. We do so in order to live happy and engaged lives, and to connect with the people we care about and our wider community.

This process of finding meaning is highly personal, but also reflects the larger social context in which we find ourselves.

Due to constant change in the world around us, we need to continually update our own meanings, our sense of self and our place in the world. We need to be in a continual process of transformation in order to continue growing and developing our potential.

Where are we now as a society?

In spite of our social disruptions, or actually because of them, we’ve been making progress towards creating new meaning in our lives.

Many of the social and political rights that people have been fighting to achieve for decades—civil rights, women’s rights, disability rights, animal rights, environmental rights—are still in the process of being realized.

Today, diversity and inclusion are increasingly becoming a part of society, at least in the conversation. In many places this raised awareness has given more of us the ability to be accepted by society for who we are, as unique, vulnerable individuals, not how we’re ‘supposed to be’ according to an arbitrarily assigned role.

Though equality and social acceptance has not been fully realized (if it truly ever can be), society is on the path to a greater appreciation and integration of diversity and multiculturalism.

This is an important step towards creating the conditions for more and deeper community connections, and a reestablishment of faith in society’s institutions. Having a fundamental sense of belonging, and being accepted by all of society, is critical to helping ameliorate the loneliness, sense of disconnectedness and anxiety that exists today. But it’s still not enough on its own.

Improved economy?

Maybe a more robust economy that lifts all segments of society can be achieved.

More activist governments are beginning to take shape, yet again. The 2008 global economic meltdown known as the Great Recession showed the necessity of government intervention to rescue the financial industry and prevent widespread depression. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown the necessity for governments to help rescue small businesses and individual citizens. And the need to address the environmental crisis is requiring governments to consider new methods and policies of governance over society and the economy.

The critique of neoliberal economics over the past ten or so years appears to be opening the door to more government intervention and oversight of the economy. Not that globalization is going away, but the darker sides of untethered globalization, particularly the impact on local communities and individuals, is now more fully recognized.

All wonderful changes, providing increased security and opportunity to many.

The power in our hands

Furthermore, we are all still in the process of learning how to control the immense power of the personal computing technology that we have, literally, in our hands.

Tablets, smartphones and laptops are amazing innovations that have changed the way we connect, communicate, shop, and access information. Despite their many positive effects, we have already witnessed the dark side of that power—fake news, an explosion of conspiratorial thinking, the push to tribalism, and a frenzy of disinformation.

But overtime, believing in the inherent kindness and “smartness” of humanity, we will learn to use these technologies to better ourselves and society.

That includes an awareness of the power of social media to make us feel small or not good enough. Being aware of the envy that social media generates, and the potential for narcissism that it engenders, is another important step in our collective ability to manage the power of personal computing for the better.

Progress at the expense of social cohesion

Despite the positive steps taken so far, and the many modest and partial achievements that have been made, why are so many of us still feeling disoriented and disconnected?

Because change, and the disruption it brings in its wake, is still running apace. It’s today’s reality. Nothing stays the same for long. Digital technologies continue to alter the economic landscape, while biotech promises to transform human wellness, and artificial intelligence is going to do...who knows what!

Governments and large institutions are not nimble players—more like lumbering beasts, for the most part. They take time to change and respond to society’s needs.

Despite awareness of the negative impacts of globalization, that trend continues to cause disruption, while simultaneously opening the door to expanded market and business opportunities. Meanwhile, ongoing environmental degradation is forcing humanity to face additional, critical threats to the quality of our lives, including a potential existential threat to our very existence owing to the man-made climate crisis and global warming.

These challenges require collective action on the part of all the world’s leading countries and are, in fundamental ways, far beyond the scope of individual engagement.

Alas, we are still being cast adrift by technological, social, and economic trends beyond the control of any individual or group. And we have yet to find or create the new touchpoints that will ground us in this new reality. We continue to seek sanctuary for our anxious souls.

But there is one place where we remain in control—in ourselves, in our own minds and our attitudes towards what’s happening around us. So while the recent positive shifts in society will take years, if not decades, to be realized, as individuals we can start creating change right now by starting within.

So what’s to become of us during this Meaning Crisis?

Many, maybe most of us, are finding ourselves in an odd place when trying to figure out what life is all about—what it really means to be a human being—in the 21st Century.

The fact is, and this is not an easy thing to really get, one of our greatest built-in desires as conscious human beings is to know what’s real. We are continually looking for deeper truths that ground us in reality. But that’s actually not as straight-forward as it sounds. It’s a challenge to assign meaning to things and events when we’re not completely certain how real and how important they truly are in the first place!

This is the meaning crisis that we’ve been talking about. It’s an existential ungrounding of our psyches, our sense of self, and where we came from. It’s a dislocation from what used to be, from what’s been familiar, to something new and unknown.

Even if we believe that “what used to be” wasn’t always great or as good as it should have been, the mere experience of change is disrupting and disconcerting. Why? Because we have to recognize the truth of our new reality and that’s not always an easy thing to do.

This can be stressful. So even though change is a potential catalyst for better ways of doing things, it can still be upsetting.

Our world is rapidly evolving and this flux makes it difficult to be constantly searching for new meanings and establishing new connections

What should we believe?

Should we believe in the new economy, the new technology, the new cause, the new fad, the new relationship? How real is it? How meaningful can we make it, if we don’t know it’s real and important?

There’s a lot of fog along the way to knowing what is real, including often not really understanding our own inner nature and desires. Some of that fog is self-generated. It is easy to wish that things were different, and then simply ignore reality and go about distracting ourselves.

But in general we spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out what exactly is real and what it all means. And I’m not just talking about what scientists and engineers might be doing in their laboratories and research centres.

I’m talking about what we do every day, year in and year out.

“Will I look good in this new sweater?”

That’s a question we all ask ourselves at some point, and it’s a question that concerns our own interpretation of reality and assignment of meaning. It may not be as momentous in the quest for understanding as the search for fundamental cosmic particles, or better ways to fight viruses like Covid-19, but it’s along the same lines.

Consciously or not, we humans are always on the search to know what’s real, what’s authentic. It’s a constant quest, and we do it in big and small ways daily.

Reality has become more complex

So even a mundane quest for understanding reality and creating meaning, such as “Will I look good in this sweater?”, has become tentative in today’s world.

The issues immediately go beyond whether the sweater is your favourite colour—let’s say red—to wondering whether the sweater is made from sustainable fabric, organically grown in a supportive, self-sustaining community. Does the factory that made the sweater follow progressive labour practices? What’s its carbon footprint? Is it made in a country that persecutes minorities or restricts personal freedoms? Is it recyclable?

Suddenly, reality has become more complex. From simply liking red sweaters, you have to ask yourself what your values are, and know what you stand for.

In our complex society understanding reality, including ourselves, and ascribing meaning, has become more challenging than ever. Of course, if the only reason for buying the sweater is to impress others and feel good about yourself, however fleeting that might be, then we do indeed have a meaning crisis, and it’s a very shallow one!

These concerns used to not be concerns!

It used to be easier. In the olden days (not so long ago) we seemed to accept the world as it was presented to us without questioning it too much. Maybe we were just more innocent and maybe naive? Or maybe the issues weren’t so obvious?

But the world has changed and continues to rapidly evolve. And as it does, our reality requires a more intense inquiry and deeper interpretation to find out what’s real, what is not real, and apply meaning to it.

This is the challenge of being alive in the 21st Century. We are confronted, as humanity has never been before, to better understand ourselves and know who we are. To decide for ourselves how we want to live our life and contribute to society. This is the call to live a more meaningful life.

Being true to ourselves and contributing to society is not a choice. It never really has been. But today the consequences extend far beyond family, tribe, or even nation. The consequences are global.

At Greater Meaning we believe that with awareness and perseverance, we as individuals and as members of our communities can find new meanings in our continually shifting reality and work our way out of the meaning crisis in order to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. In doing so, we will not only help ourselves and those we care for, but we may potentially change the fate of humanity.