Seeking Deeper Meaning: What I’ve Been Reading

The last couple of months have set me thinking much more about all those “what if” questions I shared in my earlier post. With work somewhat toning down, I managed to have some time to reflect on one of the biggest ones on my mind: figuring out our life’s purpose and meaning.

Naturally, that journey led me straight to the books. I’ve recently found myself lost in some thought-provoking reads. They’ve been really enjoyable, particularly in how they describe living a life beyond the “default path” that society often lays out.

These are some of the books that I really enjoyed:

• The Ikigai Journey: A Practical Guide to Finding Happiness and Purpose the Japanese Way by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia: The ‘Ikigai’ concept has gained quite a bit of traction in recent years, and this book offers simple and practical ideas for finding our reason for being.
• The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd: This book resonated with me particularly, exploring deeply into the idea of charting your own unique journey outside of your comfort zone instead of just following the default well-paved path.
• Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber: A little draggy and repetitive at times, but nonetheless an interesting read about how some of the most prestigious jobs serve no real value and purpose.
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi: Quite an emotional read about a neurosurgeon who was so close to living his dream life before being struck by a terminal illness.

These books were definitely powerful kickstarters for shaping my thinking in the past few months. Have you read any of these, or found other books that have profoundly impacted your view on living a life with more meaning? I’d love to hear them!