Questions of Meaning & Purpose
Sometimes the difficulty is not that something has gone wrong, but that life no longer feels fulfilling or aligned with your values.
People often arrive at questions of meaning and purpose after a great deal has already been lived through. They may have survived difficult experiences, achieved things that once mattered, or carried responsibility for a long time, and find themselves wondering what it has all been for. From the outside, life may look settled or successful, while internally something feels thin, repetitive, or strangely empty.
Understanding questions of meaning
Questions of meaning and purpose often arise when life has been organised around necessity, expectation, or survival, rather than personal choice.
Much of a person’s energy may have gone into doing what was required, sensible, or expected, while their own sense of direction has gradually become less clear.
These questions are not problems to be fixed. They point toward something important no longer being met.
Living without a sense of purpose
Living without a felt sense of meaning can be quietly exhausting. People often continue functioning, meeting obligations, and appearing fine, while feeling increasingly flat or disengaged.
There may be guilt about feeling this way, especially when life appears good enough or when others assume contentment. Some people push harder or set new goals, hoping that meaning will follow. Others withdraw, unsure what they are moving toward.
This kind of emptiness is often difficult to talk about, precisely because it does not fit neatly into familiar ideas of difficulty or distress.
How I work with questions of meaning
Rather than offering answers or direction, I am interested in understanding how meaning has been shaped, how it has shifted, and how it may have thinned or been lost.
This involves paying attention to how life has been organised, what has been prioritised, and what has been set aside. It also means noticing where effort has outweighed nourishment, or where ways of living that once made sense no longer feel viable.
The work is not about deciding what purpose should be, but about restoring contact with what feels alive, significant, or worth responding to.
What this work can involve
Working with meaning and purpose may involve reflecting on patterns of effort and reward, exploring values that no longer feel owned, noticing a sense of emptiness or disconnection, and allowing a different sense of direction to emerge.
The emphasis is on understanding how you are living, rather than defining how you should live.
An invitation
If questions of meaning or purpose feel present in your life, you are welcome to get in touch for an initial conversation.