Question: I often feel like life is spinning out of control—work demands, personal responsibilities, and the state of the world. How do you find meaning and keep going when chaos surrounds you?
Response:
I wish I could tell you I’ve mastered this, that I wake up every morning with clarity and purpose, no matter how messy or difficult life gets. But, to be honest, there are days I feel lost too.
Chaos has a way of pulling the rug out from under us when we least expect it.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve learned: meaning isn’t something you find in perfect moments. It’s something you create, even in the messy ones.
A few years ago, I went through a particularly chaotic phase—work was overwhelming, my personal life felt scattered, and the news seemed to be a constant stream of bad headlines. I thought, “How can anyone make sense of this?”
But then, as I got deeper into studying about the human condition and spirituality (not religion, but spirituality), I started noticing the small things that grounded me. A kind word from my child, the rhythm of my breath when I took a walk, the earth under my feet, the way sunlight danced on my desk in the late afternoon. These weren’t grand revelations, but they started to feel enough.
Philosophers like Viktor Frankl have written about finding meaning in suffering, and that idea always stuck with me. It’s not about waiting for chaos to subside but about asking, “What is this moment asking of me? What can I give to it?”
Sometimes, meaning is as simple as showing up. You don’t have to solve everything; you just have to take the next step.
Life might never stop being chaotic, but you can always choose to live deliberately within it.
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