What Is The Meaning of Life?

“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.”      Thomas Merton

This week I got an email from someone who wanted me to answer this question for a magazine article: “What is the meaning of life?” There was no word limit or any other restrictions on my answer. In typical fashion, I chewed on this question all week and also thought I would have to take tons of time to write a full essay on this deep subject. It lingered on my “to do” list all week. This was such a big question that it required a big answer…. Until….

Until – I went to a memorial celebration of life of a singer friend of mine. My friend Willow Wray had died of cancer six months earlier and in the last two weeks of her life had realized her dream to record a CD of her original songs. She had wanted to do this for years but always put it off thinking the songs were just not good enough yet, and her inner critic keep dangling the perfectionist carrot in front of her. But when she was given two more weeks to live she rallied, and with the help of dedicated and committed musicians and a recording engineer, the CD was recorded in two weeks. Luckily she was able to see and hear the final result. I was told when she saw the CD she kissed it, threw it across the room and said, “Now go out and do your work in the world.” The next day she passed away.

At her memorial/celebration – there were tears, lots of laugher (she was an amazing comedian) and performances of the songs from the CD. One of the many lessons I got from attending this event was how that idea of being a perfectionist can rob us of so many gifts that we are meant to give the world. We are all so blessed that in her final days she just went for it with everything she had – and now there exists a beautiful representation of who she was. One of her producers commented that when you know you have two weeks to live there simply is no room for an inner critic or ego or anything that would get in the way. There was a job to do and she did it. It is truly my spiritual path to practice living in that being-present-non-perfectionistic state!

When I came home from this event I knew exactly how to answer the question of “What is the meaning of life.” It didn’t require hours of sitting at the computer, writing and rewriting, editing, thinking, stewing… none of that. It was now crystal clear to me:

What is the meaning of life?
To give and receive love.
Period.

That is what Willow did, what she lived, what she taught us all.

Willow, you are missed but your music and laughter carry on….
To learn more about Willow Wray and order her CD, click here.