Søren Kirkegaard was a 19th century philosopher. He thought about death a lot, then he died abruptly at the age of 42. He believed humans need a sense of meaning to live a happy life. But he also knew that having too much meaning was crippling.
Fr. McNally once told me that if I want to make an impact, I shouldn’t try to make an impact.
Life is a duality and life is a balance. You and I both want our lives to be meaningful. We want to have lived for something, and we don’t want to be forgotten.
But if our lives mean too much, if we’re too important, then that sucks the fun out of it. Being serious helpful at times but mostly a trap. Living is for love, laughter, and happiness, not existential angst over whether or not we’re doing enough to bear the burdens of humanity.
If you want to live a meaningful life, don’t get caught up in meaning. If you want to make an impact, don’t try to make an impact. Live and learn and love and grow. And don’t forget to laugh.