Meaning for Men

I received a call this morning from a young man who asked me what he should do with his life.  I recommended to him that he do now what is required to become a good father and grandfather in the future.  I told him about how my goal was to become like my grandfather Joseph Wallace Croft Senior who was able to provide shelter, security, and support to his descendants in their times of need.

The conversation reminded me of a lecture by Jordan B. Peterson on the subject of Meaning of life for men.  Toward the end of the talk he states that most suffer when they lack meaning in their life except for "low conscientious people".  I am of the opinion that those people suffer as well, perhaps even more so.

I also listened to his audiobook 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos after it was recommended to me by a friend.  This is the same friend who recommended to me the book Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl.  I see a shared theme between Frankl and Peterson in their emphasis on the necessity of meaning as a requirement for human survival.

Here is a picture from 1942 of my grandfather holding my newborn father Joseph Wallace Croft Junior.  This was just before my grandfather was shipped to Europe to fight in World War II.  He did not see his son again until the war was over in 1945.