The Power of Meaning

As [Albert] Camus writes, we long for rational explanations of the world and seek order and unity, but the world is chaotic, disordered, and senseless – it has no ‘rational and reasonable principle.’ We wonder why we exist, how we came into being and for what purpose, but the world responds with silence. We can try to satisfy our yearning by making a leap to God, religion, or some other transcendent source of meaning that we take on faith. But if we accept as true only what we absolutely know, then there are ‘truths’, as Camus puts it, but no single Truth.

Tedeschi and Calhoun use the metaphor of an earthquake to explain how we grow in the wake of crisis. Just as a city has a certain structure before a major earthquake, so too do we have certain fundamental beliefs about our lives and the world. Trauma shatters those assumptions. But out of the rubble comes an opportunity to rebuild. In the aftermath of an earthquake, cities aim to erect buildings and infrastructure that are stronger and more resilient than what now lies in ruins. Similarly, those who are able to rebuild psychologically, spiritually, and otherwise after a crisis are better equipped to deal with future adversity, and they ultimately lead more meaningful lives.