People want to know: What is the meaning of life? Frankl compares this to asking: “What is the best move in chess?” The answer is: the best move he can make at any given time within the limits of his ability and within the limits imposed by his opponent.
Life is the same way. There is no global answer to the question of “the” meaning of life that we can see. We can only do our best (to the limits of our ability) to make the right move (within the confines of reality) at any given point in time.
Asking about meaning of life in general terms is therefore erroneous to begin with. It is life that questions man, and he has to respond to the question by being responsible. His conscience is the “still small voice” that guides him in how to answer the question. (p. 59-62)
The problem with language is that we are limited by how it’s used. Discussion around the meaning of life often concerns philosophical questions. Is there a God? What is nature? Why are we here? What is the purpose of it all?
Another kind of discussion surrounds ways of discovering what can make life meaningful, as in this sweet, short video.
Even so, if I don’t reverse the question and realize that life is actually asking me and waiting for my answer, I will miss the meaning of my responsibility. Maybe I will be helping a friend but what I need to be doing right now is relaxing in the sun. Maybe I will be getting in touch with nature but what I need to be doing right now is setting goals.
Whether you’re playing the game of chess or the game of life, there is no preset formula. There is no escape from needing to know your strengths and your limitations and needing to hear in which way life is calling you, right now.