Do we all have a meaning for others?

Use this forum to discuss the April 2021 Book of the month, "There's a Rooster in My Bathroom: A Quest for Meaning in the Bathroom, the Boardroom and Beyond" by Trish Ostroski.
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Sushan Ekanayake
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Re: Do we all have a meaning for others?

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Katherine Smith wrote: 11 Apr 2021, 11:59 I think that the author is saying that we as individuals need to be aware of the way that we treat people through our words and our actions. I also think that this quote can mean that we need to treat those who we are close with such as friends and family members as a connection to humanity. I like your explanation of this quote in our question and I can see where you could have arrived at that conclusion.
You are correct. We might feel of ourselves as less important or not important at all. But we have to keep in mind that there are people who will be affected by our words and acts. So we should keep that in mind and be careful of what we do. That is what this author wanted to highlight. We should understand our meaning to others and should work on protecting as well as maintaining that
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Post by El_limitless »

Yeah, I am sure we all have meaning for others. Our beautiful innate qualities attract people to us and they adore us for who we are. We always need to keep to those qualities to keep their love and admiration.
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Post by Sonya Nicolaidis »

I think sometimes we fail to realize the meaning we have towards other people and tend to think of ourselves as passing like ‘ships in the night’. That’s why it’s important to always treat each other fairly and to be kind, because we never know the impact we have had on someone’s outlook and life. As for protecting what we mean to others, I think it really depends on what reciprocal meaning they have for us - some relationships have to be nurtured to remain important. Some are automatic and easy. Some are not worth the effort.
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Post by Sekhmet September »

I disagree. It is an assumption that all of us have meaning to others, maybe it is used just for self comfort.

Firstly, I am skeptical the statement as an absolute. Absolute statements are generally wrong, on the basis that there is almost nothing true all the time.

Secondly, there have been people who have existed in complete isolation. They would have had no obvious impact on anyone, simply due to lack of interaction.

Thirdly, this strikes me as a fluff statement. Something said with the intention to make others feel good, but truthfully lacking real substance. It would be a statement like this that makes me doubt if there is any real help to be had (self or otherwise).
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Post by Joyful17 »

I agree that there is some wisdom to these words. We can't dwell in isolation, therefore we influence each other in numerous ways. Understanding our meaning for others can better our relationship with them.
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Post by WADonnelly »

I think this is a great quote and reminds us that we not only play a part in our lives but in the lives of various others.
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Post by Beatus »

Whatever others perceive about you should not matter really. What matters is that you should work on yourself. Create the best version of yourself by working on your character, personality, health, etc. everyday. Life may put you in a situation whereby you are an inspiration to others, but you may as well be a Judas. You shouldn't be concerned that much, though.
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Post by SunVixen »

Each person undoubtedly matters to their family members, friends and colleagues. Each person, when he or she is going to do something, it is advisable to think about how this act can affect these people. For example, if a man or woman commits a crime and goes to prison, his or her family members and friends will be very ashamed.

Moreover, many people have someone who depends on them - for example, little children or elderly parents. They must be smart and strong to take care of those who depend on them.
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Post by Laura Britos »

Sushan wrote: 01 Apr 2021, 01:15
We all have meaning for other people, and we need to do a stronger job of protecting that and recognizing that.
This is a quote from this book that caught my attention. What do you think about this statement? Does it mean that we all have a meaning for all the others, or we all have a meaning for some of the others? Do we all actually have a meaning for others? If so, what do you think about yourself? What is the meaning of yourself to others or the world? Was it difficult to recognize it? Are you working on to protect it?
I think this quote is really interesting. I interpreted it like saying that regardless of how we think of ourselves, we matter to someone. We matter to a lot of people, and we need to remind ourselves that what we think of ourselves is not all that we are.
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Post by Durgeshwari Dolas »

I think the quote is very accurate. Because our lives are not only ours, they are tied to various people. For famous person is very easy to see means there are so many people who admire them and they have to always mind their each steps.
When it comes to us normal citizens, we fail to recognise that there are people watching us, hoping, expecting best for us. At a certain time we became the inspiration,the push they needed in their life. So yes we are connected to each other. And how we present our self matters to others, because it can either make them or destroy them.
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Post by joynob24365 »

I think that yes we do have a meaning for others. Whether our role is to help strenghten them, be a source of support to them or anything really. Even someone you dislike has a meaning or role to you. Sometimes it might be a very small role but it still has a somewhat meaning.
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Post by Sara chhawniwala »

From the way i see this quote is wheather we matter in other person's life.
I think we do. Some may see us as valuable assests in their life while for others we may be just another passerby. However it does not matter unless we make an impact on their life.The impact could be as small as an ant or as big as the Earth.
We all mean something to other. It should be our job to ensure that its something meaningfull.
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Post by Karissa Schilling »

We all have some level of meaning to people we know or we come across in our day to day lives. I feel like many people don't realize the impact they have or can have on people. Something as simple as smiling at a stranger could change there whole day, right? You never know the meaning you have to another person but it's important to remember that you DO have an effect on others.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

We definitely have meaning to our family and friends. However, we never know when we do or say something that it may have meaning to a perfect stranger who sees or hears us. I think even a kind word to a stranger, or even a smile can have meaning to others!
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Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

I think we have a big meaning for some others and a tiny one for
all of the
others. You're probably essential to your spouse, kids, friends, etcetera. You could change the life of a stranger or even have a profession of service. But also, everything we do affects our community, our country and our planet and, in that sense, we have meaning for everyone.
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