Is it wrong to want to live a meaningful life? Some could say yes and some could say no. It doesn’t matter what they say. It matters what you say… if you’re willing to go for it or not.

If you want to consider a story based on the internal experience I’ve been talking about, one possible starting point is to see God as the Author of your story. You look at your life in a new way, one viewed as a story of change, transformation, and hope.

This all made sense to me when I heard of this concept that is attributed to Gustave Flaubert. He said, “The author, in his work, must be … present everywhere and visible nowhere.”

I saw that part of the concept, but I easily thought of the second part… “The author, in his work, must be like God in the Universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.”

Why is this? I’m thinking of God as the author who is both present everywhere and present nowhere.

When we’re looking for God, I like to start in the storyline. Look at your life on the path of humanity. Examine your story. Think of how all the pieces arranged to get you to where you are today. Think of where you are today and if you’re getting closer to who you want to be or not.
Some will look at their lives, see everything good, and say that God has blessed them. Some will look at their lives, see everything terrible, and say that God has cursed them. Is that what we believe? In these situations, trust and understanding are at high stakes. And of course, I don’t know the solution. That’s not my point, though. My point is in the events. I believed that good things came from God, and that if there were bad things, they were going to help lead me back to goodness.

The stories in the Bible help to tell the bigger story of God’s relationship to humanity… and the stories in your heart help to tell the bigger story of God’s relationship to you in your life. The Bible is the “heartbeat” of humanity.

In Revelation of the Bible, the Book of the Apocalypse, we see the vision of judgement. In this belief of judgement, we believe that our lives will be judged. Our life stories will be judged. Our actions, choices, and responses will be judged. And when the time comes to an end, you want to make sure that your life story is a good one… living a life that doesn’t hide from God, that everyone would be happy to see.

So if your whole life and your whole internal being was revealed and left open to the world as a book, would people want to read? Would people find it interesting to read? Or would they pass it on as just another one of those books… as something too basic, too lame, or just too much?
We wouldn’t want to hide from God. We wouldn’t want to hide from people, either. Yes, I have to remind myself of that because I know that my mind can get lost, drowning in seemingly unsolvable problems… The cycle repeats, life goes on, and I never reach the “perfection” that I had supposedly promised myself that I would have by now. But there’s another solution, and this is how I found a way out. Go ask God for the thing that has been bothering you… the thing that you feel you need the most. I know it’s going to hurt continuously, but don’t stop asking. Keep on praying… and eventually, one day, I believe that God can take you to the point where you don’t see that thing as “bothering” you anymore, or having it fulfilled, or even both. (Maybe I should do that too right now.)

If you take away everything in your world, I believed, you’ll still have yourself and you’ll still have God. When you take away all the thoughts, and if you forget, you will still have the stillness.
Is there an arrow pressing on you even in the stillness, fine tuned for a lost soul who is trying to find the right direction to go?

Life is sure driven by excitement and climaxes. If you really think about it… remembering all of the ways you have been blessed and sustained… you can think of meaning, that which gives rise to gratitude… that which brings joy.

The story has events. You went through A and B, did C and D, saw E and F, etc. etc. etc.

The way that I think about it is in the terms of “Value.” I refer to this as a value scale… not one of measuring things, but one of relevance.

I think about the events that have meant the most to me, that have felt the most important, that have impacted me the most. Usually, it’s not the event itself that really felt the best, but it’s the way of seeing all the pieces align.

I think about how much this event impacts the rest of my life. I think about how exciting and enjoyable this event has felt compared to others. I think about how likely I would want to relive that excitement. I think about how unique this event is. I think about how joyful I feel when thinking back about this event. And finally, I think about how much I am willing to thank God for this event.

What was meant for bad can be turned to good. It depends on my outlook, I thought. And maybe there’s a scenario in which every single event can have some good effect. After all, if no goodness could come, then God wouldn’t be there… but we believe that God would be there, in every circumstance, without failing.

Isn’t that a powerful belief? It may not be fancy, entertaining, perfect or pleasing. But it has the meaning that we all need. Because when people beat down so hard and has no solution to turn to, this meaning will help them find the way out.

I think back to a very special moment of high value in my experiences, and I remember how I got there. I am filled with joy. Words cannot describe how amazing and powerful these experiences had felt. Can you do the same?