If others think that your life lacks meaning, prove them wrong. What are the things or people that gave your life meaning?
For me, a few things come to mind.
Let me list them out

1) My family. So blessed I am to have a mom, dad and two sisters who would stay by me through everything and love me despite anything.

2) My friends. Whether we laugh together, cry together, or even make love together it doesn't matter as long as you're doing it right.

3) My gadgets. The love I have for them is beyond a utility- object relationship. I have personal names for all of them. My Laptop (Prometheus), phone (Zeus), watch (Lady) and so on. Where would I be without them.

4) My letters. The ones I've preserved since I was 12 years old. It gives me purpose every time and makes me feel so loved. Grandma. Friends. Strangers. My heart is with you always.

5) My books. A portal that takes me to a whole different world altogether. I believe imagination makes a man as it is a direct link to their personality.

6) My pen. Last but not the least. Where would I be without it? The legacy of my thoughts and the chisel to the stoned expression of my creativity. I didn't have many friends growing up but it was my pen who made me the person I am today. It makes me feel larger than life and for that it's probably the most important.

Likewise, we all have such a list. These are the elements of what turned me from an individual to a person. For, what is a person but an individual whose heart can experience warmth, whose will could stand through being bullied and not fall apart, whose eyes that refuses to stay shut despite the flood of tears, and who can face each day knowing we're not perfect and that we're only human.

Faith.
Reason.
Kindness.
Redemption.
Self Awareness.
Scientific Inquiry.
Strength & Perseverance.

Other elements which enables the soul of a person to penetrate a universe of darkness.
Parts of a jigsaw that fits the ultimate narrative: To Live. Laugh. Love.
And that is what gives my life meaning.

© Ben Tariang