W02 - Create a life of meaning

 

This week we reflected on what is important to us and what we need to include in our lives to create meaning. One of the study activities included a video of a professor named Randy Pausch that was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and that only had some weeks or a couple of months of life, but gave a marvelous talk about achieving our childhood’s dreams and creating meaning in the way we live.

I think that he was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams because, as he said, it is not so much about achieving your dreams, but how you live your life, and living your life the right way will cause your dreams to come to you. So, having dreams is important because as I read in other activity, the stars are important to guide our efforts and focus our energy and talents so they are not wasted. In this case, our dreams are our stars, and it doesn’t matter if we find brick walls on the way because they are not there to stop us or keep us out, they are there to give us the opportunity to show how badly we want something, and even if we don’t achieve it in the first, try, it is important to keep trying because at least we will receive experience, because as he says, “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want”. Also, he talks about being patient with other people, even if they make us upset or angry; if we wait long enough, they will almost always impress us.

In conclusion, this week’s lessons helped me see the importance of living my life to the fullest and overcome obstacles, learn from setbacks and keep trying despite the brick walls we face on the way to our dreams.