Meaning

Meaning and hope are aligned - without meaning there is little or no hope. Spirituality can be said to be about how one makes sense of the world and how one creates meaning (van Deurzen and Arnold-Baker, 2005). Clients may become stuck in certain ways of living because they have avoided examining values and beliefs that underpin their lives. This avoidance can result in experiences of apathy

60 Creativity, Spirituality, and Mental Health

and detachment. Certain life events, on the other hand, can make clients reevaluate their values and beliefs. While the events may be traumatic, they can lead to more insight, understanding, and wisdom. By recognizing what one values and by finding ways to achieve this, clients can increase motivation, van Deurzen (2002) writes: "When the future is scanned for opportunities to accomplish what is worth accomplishing, purpose is created and motivation and willpower emerge. Such a sense of purpose is always closely related to the meaning that one is able to find in one's past and in life in general" (p. 139).

Viktor Frankl, founder of logotherapy, concurs that the search for meaning or purpose is a primary motivation of life. In his classic text Man's Search for Meaning (1963), Frankl discusses three primary ways to discover meaning in life: one's contribution to the world, one's experiences of values (such as love), and the attitude one takes toward unavoidable suffering. Yet there is no "one" meaning to life, only meaning in living: "What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment" (p. 131). Yet Frankl acknowledges a "super-meaning" which exceeds finite individual meaning; for some individuals this super-meaning is found in a religious context.