You can stock your life with important work, relationships, activities, and art, and yet still ask: what's the point of it all? Almost every thinking person has asked that question―many more than once. Granted, you're more likely to worry about the point of life when things aren't going well, but you're also likely to ask this question when you've finally received that promotion, achieved a goal, or raised your children―exactly when it seems like the question shouldn't arise.
In The Meaning of It All, Rivka Weinberg argues that this is because there are different kinds of meaning, and some, sadly, are impossible to achieve. She explains what they are, illuminates which types of meaning are possible, which are impossible, and shows us how we might orient our lives in light of these bittersweet truths. Although we all die in the end, Weinberg tells us how death doesn't make life more or less meaningful. Instead, it is time that is necessary for meaning, even as it also undermines it by wearing away the fruits of our efforts and commitments. Weinberg explains that most advice on how to reduce the agony of time's erosions cannot work. However, she also explains how we can tease out some insights from failed attempts to escape time's wounds and thereby make progress toward coping with things as they are. A meaningful life is one lived in the fullness of time, accepting suffering, acknowledging our tragic losses and limitations, and making the most of Everyday Meaning.
