What's your 'Something Larger'? ✨

Plus: Putting our lives under the microscope and creating meaningful gatherings.

Two weekends ago I was biking with my daughter on dry pavement, relishing in the sun warming my face and the feeling of my legs turning the pedals. Today I woke up to 25 centimetres of snow. It’s like the weather is laughing at me, challenging me to keep up a sunny disposition no matter what’s falling from the sky.

I have days where it’s easy to be sunny. And I have days where the clouds just won’t part, where no matter how brightly I try to shine, I just can’t crack through the storm that has been the pandemic and everything it has done to our lives. I have heard time and time again from friends, family, strangers: I just can’t motivate myself. I feel sad and frustrated as much as I have so much I’m grateful for. My life lacks meaning.

If you read my post about restlessness, you’ll know that I’ve been lacking in direction, too. At times, I have struggled to discern what is meaningful beyond my time spent with my sweet family. And then I read this book called Burnout, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski, and it made me aware of just how connected meaning is with our ability to cope. Like exercise, eating and sleeping, meaning is actually good for us. As the book says, “It helps us thrive when things are going well, and it helps us cope when things go wrong in our lives.”

Photo: Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.

It also says another thing: meaning is made, not found. That means tapping into something larger than ourselves. And because it’s within us, no external circumstances can take it away, not even a pandemic.

So, what’s your Something Larger? (credit to the authors of Burnout for that term!).

This isn’t a radically new concept to me, but was is striking about it is its simplicity. The “Something Larger” is the thing that unites the little things. It’s the reason behind the choices we make, the projects we take on, the things we’re passionate about. For one of the authors of Burnout, it’s “teaching women to live with confidence and joy within their bodies.” I envy her clarity.

But I’d like to find mine. I have long believed that the purpose of our lives is to use our talents to make the world a better place. But right now I need to pull out the microscope and look more closely at my life. One approach I thought of is to list the projects I’ve been passionate about over the years to determine their common denominator. Another is to ask the people who are close to me. This is what I’ll be working on in the weeks to come.

I can see how, when you know your Something Larger, it doesn’t matter if it’s raining, snowing and sunny. The key is to make it weatherproof, not weather-dependent.

If you know your Something Larger I’d love to hear from you in the comments or as a reply to this Substack!

---

What’s caught my attention lately… ✨

• Loving What Is, by Byron Katie. Her four questions and turnarounds (something she calls “inquiry”) have already started to change my perspective on my life and act as a template I can use when I need clarity.

• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. There is a book and numerous podcasts with her, but Priya’s email newsletter (scroll to the bottom of her website to sign up) is one I actually read and save for later. I appreciate her perspective on how we can make our gatherings more meaningful (and creative during these weird times!). For example, for my daughter’s 8th birthday last week, I mailed custom-made bingo cards to my in-laws in Quebec and we played bingo over Zoom together. It was so much fun!

---

Check these out too… 🙌

The Wonders That I Find - My children’s book is now available! 🌿

My Email Newsletter - Yes, different from Substack. This newsletter is for specific updates about my books and various projects.

Find me: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

---

Feel free to pass this on to friends who might enjoy getting little doses of inspiration in their inbox. As a writer, I can say that every ounce of support means a great deal.