Meaning-making is the process of how we perceive, interpret, and make sense of events in life, relationships, and ourselves. It gives us a way to organize memories and shape the narrative of an experience. Meaning also helps us to reconcile incongruities in our values, beliefs, and expectations and in our attitude toward life. This is especially important in times of moral adversity.
Senseless suffering is a big theme in moral resilience. We often think to ourselves, “Why am I continuing to do ‘this’ when nothing changes?” One way to create meaning is to consider alternatives that may not appear obvious or that you have previously rejected. Also, consider how this situation is asking you to grow. What new insights about yourself, others, and life have come to light?
A mistake often made when it comes to meaning-making is thinking it is a lesson to be learned or the “moral of the story.” Not so. Meaning-making is not trying to put a happy spin on pain, nor is it necessarily trying to teach us cautionary realities. Meaning-making simply helps us to broaden our thinking and feeling about a morally difficult situation and keeps us moving forward with integrity and principled action.
100 Words Everyday 