How to Explore the Meaning of Life through Journaling

A major part of the meaning of life is contained in the very discovering of it. It is an ongoing experience of growth that involves a deepening contact with reality…the meaning of life cannot be told. It has to happen to a person.

—Ira Progoff

Today I’m taking a deep dive into the meaning of life and exploring:

• Common philosophical, cultural, and religious beliefs about life’s meaning
• The case for defining life meaning through meaning-making actions
• A meaning-making journaling activity to use any time

Have you ever asked yourself the big question: What is the meaning of life?

I’m betting that somewhere along the way you’ve pondered this question.

Maybe you didn’t say it with exactly those words. Maybe it was more like, “What’s it all about, this thing called life?”

You might have scribbled it on a piece of paper or felt its deep pull somewhere in your body. 

It’s one of the enduring (and often elusive) questions that arrive during our life journeys, often at turning points or dark nights of the soul. You might sense its pull during times when you feel like something’s missing in your life or in yourself.

Not surprisingly, it’s also a question that brings some people to therapy.

You may have noticed that when you’re ready to ponder life’s meaning, it helps if you slow down.

Those moments when you can step back from all the going and doing often open up space for questions about life’s meaning to rise to the top. 

Perhaps you’ve had the experience of stopping for a time in a stunning place, mesmerized by a vast ocean or humbled by a magnificent mountain. Suddenly you see something about yourself or your life you hadn’t quite seen before.

But no matter what helps bring the questions forward, it’s safe to say that defining and seeking meaning is something that most people yearn for at some point in their lives.

Not surprisingly, many have tried to define the meaning of life.

Considering these multiple perspectives, what if there is no definitive path to understanding the meaning of life?

What if part of your job as a wise human being is to determine the meaning of life for yourself?

This is, in essence, what existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir believed: that life has no inherent meaning, and it is each person’s responsibility to create their own meaning through their choices and actions.

Although I’m a bit of an existentialist at heart, I don’t fully agree with existential theory. I do believe that there is inherent meaning in life; there is meaning in humanity beyond nothingness.

So, what if the meaning of life is yours to create?

In my humble experience, I’ve noticed that whenever or wherever questions about life’s meaning show up, as much as we might long for a specific answer to the questions, there probably isn’t one.

You can’t really define the meaning of life on the surface of things or through the experiences and beliefs of others.  

And as Rilke famously wrote, the journey involves living the questions.

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

Essentially, the meaning of life grows from a willingness to live the questions and take meaning-making actions.

This is what Ira Progoff believed. Progoff was an American psychotherapist known for his development of the Intensive Journal Method. He also studied depth psychology with Carl Jung.

In my opinion, Progoff offers us a unique opening to explore the meaning of life through journaling with his stepping stones metaphor. In this form of journaling you gather up life experiences as if they were stepping stones along the path. And then you write about them.

Of course, meaning-making is different for everyone.

This particular journaling activity focuses on anchoring you in your own story and your own wisdom. It helps you make sense of your life, which is especially important during the times we’re living in.

I think of it as a kind of internal awakening, a transformation of sorts. Of course, there are many ways to move toward that internal awakening and Ira Progoff’s journaling methods are simply one way to do so.

In my work as a coach and therapist for women, I’ve witnessed this transformation in many clients (and not only those that take up journaling). Still, it’s interesting to note that Progoff’s philosophy echoes life’s journey by highlighting the road of self-discovery as a way toward a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

One important benefit of this work is that it reminds you that you have always been you.

You simply are. Something about you has been you your entire life, complete and whole. Right here, right now.

And there is only one of you.  No one else has lived your life. In fact, you are the only one who can live your life and tell your story.

That means you get to discover the meaning of life through your unique lived experiences, through things that are happening or have happened.

And while your experiences may be similar to someone else’s, they’re also unlike anyone else’s because at your core you are simply you, unlike anyone else.

As you journal about your experiences they become woven into the fabric of your past, present, and future. Not only do they help define your story, but they impact the way you narrate it and imagine it going forward (hopefully with grace and compassion).

How to explore the meaning of life by journaling about your “stepping stones.”

You can do this journaling activity with any period of time or set of experiences in your life. For instance, you could write a series of stepping stones about:

1. your life chapters
2. the animals you’ve known and loved
3. a period of time before, during or after a loss or life transition
4. your relationship with a partner, relative or friend
5. a favorite creative activity or hobby

Truly, the possibilities are endless, just as the depth and breadth of the meaning of life is endless.

It helps to start by putting some boundaries around your journaling.

For instance, you could choose a life chapter, perhaps your final year of high school. I know that can be an angsty time but let’s experiment with it. (And since I can’t disclose confidential client information, I’ll use myself as a guinea pig.)

1. Begin with a few minutes of quiet as you let some memories of that time bubble up.

Open up to receive the memories instead of forcing them. Trust the stillness and quiet to bring them to you. Notice any memories that seem important to remember.

No need to judge a memory as good or bad. Trust your inner wisdom to take care of you and help you choose what’s most important and meaningful for you and you alone.

Remember, this is your life, and you get to define and make your own meaning of life. (And there is no wrong way to do this.)

2. Write down each memory, describing it with a short phrase. Try for about 5 to 10 memories.

Here’s an example of Stepping Stones from my last year of high school.

1. the performance in dance class with Lora
2. an unexpected kiss
3. Brook’s brood
4. leaving early on Wednesdays
5. lost and uncertain and ready for something new

3. Sometimes it helps to put the memories in chronological order. Then begin writing.

Start each memory with this journaling prompt: It was a time when…

Capture the essence of each stepping stone in your journal, a paragraph or so. Begin by describing the experience, opening the door to what part of this memory grabs your attention and then let it flow out, without worrying about spelling or puncutation.

Five minutes (or less) is plenty of writing time for each one, unless you feel the urge to keep writing. You can also write them all in one sitting or spread them out if that works best for you.

Finally, consider writing in the third person. Studies actually show that we are more positive and self-compassionate when we step into a more distant version of ourselves. 

Here’s the example from my journal, about that last year of high school. 

“It was a time when she couldn’t wait to go home early on Wednesdays. She’d walk fast, out towards the front of the school, the eucalyptus trees urging her on as she made her way down the hill. The walk home was almost all down hill and with every step she felt the freedom rise within her. A perfect afternoon just for her, no one else around, to do whatever she pleased.” 

5. Take time to read your entries after you write them.

There’s nothing you have to do with these stepping stone memories. That said, you may desire to feel some sense of completion at the end of your writing.

One way to do that is to read them aloud, to yourself or to someone else, because that often enhances their meaning.

You could also make a date with yourself for another session of stepping stones journaling, and another experience of defining the meaning of life through your own lived experiences.

6. One final recommendation…

If at any time your journaling feels dark or difficult, put your writing aside and do something else. 

Also, if you sense that anxiety or depression are getting in the way of any form of meaning-making or personal work right now, it may be wise to seek professional help.

Journal writing is a voyage to the interior. —Christina Baldwin