Maintaining meaning in life

This is the final article in the series focusing on “Thriving in Place.” I have previously written about the importance of safety, security, maintaining optimal health family support and connectedness. In this final article I will discuss the importance of maintaining “meaning” in life as we grow older.

Meaning in one’s life is what defines who we think we are, what we have achieved, and what will be our legacy. It is what drives us to keep on living even when it seems our world has shrunk to four walls and is limited by a body that only works some of the time!

The concept that people need a sense of meaning was explored in the famous book “Man’s Search For Meaning” a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during World War II. In it he analyzes what keeps people going in horrific circumstances. He concluded that it is life sustaining for people to search for ways to make their lives meaningful even as opportunities shrink.

This applies equally to the desperate circumstances he was writing about and the more everyday normal experience of daily life and the aging process. Whether we find meaning in our profession, by singing in a choir, nurturing a grandchild, helping a neighbor get to an appointment or making quilts which can be sold to raise money for Pine Tree Hospice, if our activity gives us a sense of purpose we will be healthier and will live richer lives for it.

You might ask, “How can I have meaning in my life when I am suffering with a terminal illness or have lost everything that ever mattered to me including my cat, my home and my son?” Frankl’s book shows us that even when suffering themselves people can find meaning in small ways such as making music, painting, helping a friend, making someone else smile, comforting someone who is sick, or sharing a story or photos.

Perhaps your “meaning” is in helping your grandchild to plant peas, or in reading to a kindergarten class or helping out in the food cupboard once a week. Perhaps it is keeping the bird feeder full or thrilling to the loons on the lake.

I have defined my “meaning” in life by my profession. One way I am continuing to find meaning in my life as I slowly wind down my active medical career is to remain in the lives of my patients when I see them in a store or around town, to hug them and let them know they still matter in my life. I also find meaning leading the Maine Highlands Senior Center project or participating in hospice. I do not yet have grandchildren, but as for many others, when/if I do, being part of their lives will give my life a richness and meaning beyond measure.

Meaning is as important in healing as any drug or surgery. Health care providers and caregivers need to remain vigilant to ways that our system of caring for people sometimes deprives their lives of meaning (such as protecting them by moving them out of their homes to sterile environments).

Maine Highlands Senior Center and Thriving in Place project are working to find ways to enhance meaning in people’s lives. We want you to share with us how you keep meaning in your life. We are looking for creative ways to help people to find what gives their lives meaning.

We invite readers to offer feedback about this column and to suggest topics for future articles. You may do so by contacting Meg Callaway of the Charlotte White Center at (207) 947-1410 or meg.callaway@charlottewhite.org or Dr. Lesley Fernow at (207) 992-6822 and lmfernow@rcn.com.