Walkabout

Australian aborigines are known for their walkabouts--solitary, spiritual journeys into the wilderness. They search for eternal truths while tracing their ancestral history.

My life is one long walkabout. The quest for wisdom, insight, meaning, purpose, and significance occupy most of my free time. However, I don’t really have much free time, so I’m always trying to find meaning in mundane daily activities and observations.

I remember mentioning my search for significance to a friend, and she asked me the following question: Are you searching for significance or are you searching to be significant.

I had to think about this for a while. If all my searching is for my self-actualization, what I am actually seeking is to be significant. Most of us wonder about meaning and purpose. However, what we really want to know is, “Is my life meaningful?” “Do I have a purpose?” If our desire to make a difference, to have an impact, springs from our need to be important, then what we are actually pursuing is self-worth and self-enrichment.