Purpose

Since I’ve become a part of the MEA community the past two years, the notion of “purpose” has become more conscious to me since it's one of the MEA pillars. I’ve enjoyed hanging around with purpose…learning about others’ relationship with purpose and exploring mine.

A British online magazine asked women and men about their 20 most prized possessions. What do you notice when comparing the two lists below? Beyond the fact that men tend to fixate on expensive, tangible things (and their music in nostalgic forms: records and CDs) and women’s nostalgia is more focused on the family (photos, childhood pictures, children’s artwork, baby clothes, and parent’s wedding rings), there’s something seriously missing here.

Thanks for your patience this week as I’ve made some “asks” of you. I deeply appreciate how many of you have sent me love and support as well as your suggestions for how you ask for help when you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed.

As I enter Level 6 in the Game of Life, I’m looking back and taking stock of my life journey and thinking about what has shaped me, who I am, what I have done, and what I am doing to shape my life.

During some difficult periods recently, I found powerful inspiration in two Presidential speeches, one very recent and one from long ago.

One of my most treasured books is the classic Self-Renewal by John Gardner, which deals with the decay and renewal of societies, organizations, and individuals.

David Brooks wrote a book, “The Second Mountain,” a few years ago that aptly defined some of the fundamental principles of our MEA program. He suggests that during the first half of our adult life, we often become fixated on personal goals based on family and cultural influences.

On June 8, 1970, my mentor at Brandeis University, Abraham Maslow, collapsed and died suddenly from a massive heart attack. He’d had a cardiac event nineteen months earlier and knew that his risk of another heart attack was considerable. Earlier that year, in an interview published in Psychology Today, Maslow expressed gratitude for the time he had been given: “My attitude toward life changed. The word I use for it now is postmortem life. I could just as easily have died, so my living constitutes a kind of extra, a bonus…. I may just as well live as if I had already died…every single moment of every single day is transformed.”

A few months ago, Chip wrote a wonderful piece called “What Should We Do About U.S. Longevity?” I couldn’t help but think of the stress related issues involved. Stress is related to obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, depression, gastrointestinal problems, and asthma. Medical research estimates as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is stress-related.

In the pursuit of a fulfilling life, happiness often takes center stage. Martin Seligman, considered the father of positive psychology, believes that true happiness goes beyond momentary pleasure. His philosophy revolves around three paths to happiness: the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life.