Individuals growing up in traditional religious structures find themselves within a MetaNarrative. They are given a way of understanding the world which has been life-giving, or at least functional, for millions of people for thousands of years. A MetaNarrative gives one a structure of values and a structure of meaning within which to understand their life.
Some version of the traditional Christian MetaNarrative was my working understanding of the world for many years. I was made in the image of God, but fallen and sinful. I needed redemption by the work of Christ. When I accepted Christ’s sacrifice, my mission was to spread the Gospel and live for God to the best of my abilities through the power of the Holy Spirit. Life had eternal meaning, because, in the end, I (and others) would attain everlasting life. My values were rooted in Scripture and my action in the world had felt meaning.
I no longer find myself within that Narrative and losing it was a complete upending of my entire understanding of life.
Many young people today, especially those growing up in multi-cultural communities, are either never given a religious MetaNarrative, or find their tradition unconvincing in an absolute sense. We live in cities and rub elbows with people from an astounding variety of cultural and religious backgrounds, each with their own understandings of the world. If any one of these traditions is correct in some absolute sense, it’s hard to know which one. Scientific materialism, mixed with religious and cultural relativism, seems to underly much of modern thought.
And so we float. We do the best we can, because life keeps coming whether you have it all figured out or not. Many adopt some form of agnosticism about questions of Ultimate Meaning.
One can adopt a meditative path without strictly committing to a MetaNarrative or framework of thought. One can “taste and see” – by their direct experience – whether a spiritual path they have chosen is life-giving. One can make ethical decisions, live in a certain way, adopt a meditative practice, and see if it leads to greater real happiness for themselves and others.
For me, it helps to have a tentative understanding of what I am trying to achieve. A tentative understanding of the world and how I understand my practice. I still think in Theistic terms. I think about things like forming my soul toward the Good, the True, and the Beautiful and then handing it back to God. I think about developing Purity of Heart. I think about seeking and opening myself to a transformation that comes from God, the Source, the Absolute.
But I don’t know. Other metaphors and other images, perhaps from completely different systems of thought, might also strike me as helpful along the way.
A plant grows toward the sun because it has to or it will wither and die. Maybe we can just be plants growing toward the Sun, even if we don’t understand it all.