We need ways of understanding the meaningfulness of life that are as varied as our lives. But the power of meaning is that it feels as if it transcends our personal experience. It feels as if it is grounded in some reality beyond us. I do not experience joy at a beautiful sunset as a primarily or exclusively subjective experience. It feels as if I am taking part of something greater than me. Here is the challenge for modern people: we need experiences of meaning that feel like they resonate beyond us, beyond our heads, but we need them to remain optional. They can’t actually demand us to
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