It’s rare that I ever find myself idle since I’m mostly task-oriented. But on this particular summer’s day, I was fortunate enough to find myself with some friends, unoccupied, in one of Sydney’s beaches. Even though the day was hot, a storm was forecasted, making the waves swell, and relentlessly crash onto the shores before us. With that, there were no shortages of surfers trying their luck in the rough waters.

In the mundanity of the day, I saw a surfer get wiped out by a wave. For a moment, I saw her struggle, only to be hammered by another incoming wave. But she recovered, and kept paddling to deeper water. It was clear that she wasn’t as good as the others around her, but she kept on; determined, more than anything.

As the next wave approached, she paddled with taut muscles, and caught the wave. I could only imagine the feeling of triumph cut through her, even though her face only showed a smile.

The unfolding scene allowed me to visualise the beauty in the frustrating pursuit for meaning.

To me, there have been many times where happiness has been associated to constitute some sort of meaning to a decision to be made, or an experience to be pursued.

Often, if it will make me/someone happy, I should do it. It’s simple.

But life’s simplicity is always wrapped in complexity.

When happiness, or more specifically, pleasure, becomes the driving force to our ends, we trap ourselves in a cyclical pattern of hunger. A hunger that only grows inward to continue its satisfaction. In hindsight, I’m not implying that happiness should not be pursued, because I think it is a very important temperament, but what we must realise is that it cannot act as the focal point for our fulfilment.

So if happiness can’t act as the crux in life, is meaning what we ultimately need?

One of the few assurances we have in life is adversity: suffering, loss, betrayal, and even death. For us to overcome these, we need more than just fortitude, but a powerful sense of meaning that anchors the view of our life against the rigidness of the world around us.

What meaning is for each person, or how that meaning is pursued will be quite different, and must be left to one’s own devices. This is a reflection after all, and not a prescription.

But returning to the image of the waves crashing against the surfer once more. To me, it made sense that there was meaning to be found in the surfer’s pursuit. Before she even left the shore, she knew that it was going to be dangerous, and that there was a possibility she might get hurt; while she was paddling, she could have drowned, or died in the process. It was only after she returned to shore when we could see true elation manifest.

The pursuit for meaning in what we do becomes evident when we realise that there is a possibility of defeat, a chance of failure, or that we might lose something important in what we are about to do.

Let’s not forget that it is easy to invest much of our effort to ensure that our appetites are fed, and all the while our soul continues to starve.

Words: S.I. Finlayson

Photos by: Danny Stone Photography - find more of his work at www.dannystonephotography.com or find him on Instagram @dannystonephotography