Hi Friend,
In a moment of despair and crisis, my 80 year old friend whispered, "This is not how I wanted my life to turn out."
Her grief was about roads not taken and joy not lived. I know many details about this person's life, so I knew that, even though she could not see it in that moment, there WERE things to feel good about.
But, times of crisis can cause us to be more reflective, honest and intentional. And the struggle to create a life that feels purposeful and "right" is something the young and old, the wealthy and poor, the educated and uneducated, all wrestle with.
Robert S. Hartman (1910 – 1973) was a philosopher, professor, and business leader who was nominated in 1973 for the Nobel Peace Prize. He pioneered the science of values (”Axiology”) as a field of study.
Hartman focused his work on defining how to live a balanced and meaningful life. He guided his students to reflect on their answers to this question:
