About Meaning:

I read a short book, called “The Why Café.” Actually, I read the original in German, when the title was “Das Café am Rande der Welt.” This should have been translated as “The Café at the Edge of the World.”

In it, a diner is confronted with three question written on the back of his menu:

1. Why are you here?

2. Are you afraid of death?

3. Are you leading a fulfilled life?

As the author remarks, these are unusual questions and not found on every café’s menu.

To 1: this question refers to one’s purpose in life. Why are you here on earth? What is your mission? What is the plan for you?

To 2: as long as you have not yet found your purpose in life, you will probably fill your life with substitutes, with things that make you use up your time here on earth, but the nearer to death you come, the more you will experience a sense of desperation for not having found your purpose and for perhaps having wasted your life.

To 3: when you find your purpose in life, your higher mission, then you will lead a truly satisfied life. Without this higher purpose, this deeper meaning, your life will be hollow, and you cannot lead a truly fulfilled life. And you will not be able to contribute in a meaningful way to those around you that you love and that love you.