Quest for Life's Meaning: Unveiled
Ever wonder why success doesn't always equal fulfillment? I'm Tim Salmons. And with 30 years experience as an actor and a career spanning work in the blue collar, corporate, medical field, as well as public service industries. I've seen and experienced the human condition at its best and worst. Here on powerful and unpolished, we will explore the everyday traps draining our energy and hindering fulfillment.
Tim Salmans intro:This isn't just another success podcast. It's about breaking free from patterns that hold you back and limit your potential. Join me on this transformative journey as we explore and identify limiting traps, detach from draining patterns, and rediscover the power within. Creating a life that is truly powerful and unpolished.
Tim Salmans:Hello, and welcome to another episode of Powerful and Unpolished. I'm Tim Salmons. I'm your host. Today, we're going to dance in and out of the echo chamber and beyond the echo chamber to explore some common theories, threads, about the meaning of life. What is the meaning of life?
Tim Salmans:Yes. Huge subject to to bite into today, and we'll barely scratch the surface, to be honest with you. But I've been sort of pondering for this solo episode. What do we wanna explore? What do I what do I wanna throw out there that might have you give you something to chew on, if you will, to think about?
Tim Salmans:The meaning of life, it's it's a personal thing. It's, an individual subjective relative experience. Been doing some studies around Viktor Frankl's work and and his from his book, you know, Man's Search for Meaning. And I find it fascinating that as human beings, we really explore, you know, or live out, this is the meaning. This is the meaning that I'm I'm believing in, that I'm attached to, that I'm buying into, which is great.
Tim Salmans:The person standing next to you may have a different meaning. They may have a different experience. And that's what's interesting about when you really start looking at meaning and how we put meaning to our life. We explore the dynamic that human beings experience the meaning that they attach to things, And some people believe me again, I would say this anytime as I say on the the these podcasts, don't believe a word I say. Just it's food for thought.
Tim Salmans:It's something to try out. But this aspect is, is we, as human beings, we attach meaning to ideas, experiences, belief systems, things like that. And then we want consensus. We want people to agree with us. We want people to validate that meaning.
Tim Salmans:And if they don't, then are they apathetic? Do they just not feel? Do they just not care? Are they a sociopath? Are they a psychopath?
Tim Salmans:You know, but and all of that's available on the table. I mean, maybe they are a sociopath. Maybe they are a psychopath. Maybe they just experience meaning different than what you're experiencing for a situation. When I started playing with exploring this idea, I again, you know, meaning is individual.
Tim Salmans:It's it's to each and every individual soul out there listening to this. So I went and looked at these quotes because I think quotes are societal reflection and insight into the wisdom and knowledge that has been around for the ages. And it's interesting. There's a ton of quotes around the meaning of life. I just pulled 3 of them.
Tim Salmans:But that's the example is there's so many quotes about meaning and how life has meaning and how we put meaning to life that everyone puts their own little quote out there because that's what it means to them, which is great, because maybe it does resonate with someone. Maybe it does help to empower someone, which is great. But it's also great when you find somebody who holds a different meaning or a different awareness or shade of gray of thinking around that meaning that might enhance. So one of the quotes that that I looked out for when I was looking for quotes on meaning meaning of life or meaning for life, and it was Joseph Campbell. And Joseph Campbell's quote was, the meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be.
Tim Salmans:Being alive is the meaning. I thought, well, that's pretty insightful. I mean, from his perspective and the work that he did around, mythology and and all that information and awareness, it was like, okay. That's I I can see and relate to that quote. But even if I couldn't, it's still a valid meaning for that quote.
Tim Salmans:The next quote that I came across was, from Philip Appleman, And it said, whatever we are, whatever we make ourselves make of ourselves is all we will ever have. And that, in its profound simplicity, is the meaning of life. So that's Phillips' version of that quote or of that experience of meaning. But then I went on and I went into the Dalai Lamas, and this is one I've I think you guys are a number of people have heard this before. I've heard it, and it's a good reminder.
Tim Salmans:Don't know if it's a full meaning of life, but it's our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them. Now that is very well sage advice. Now there's some people out there that might see that our prime purpose might be some other aspect other than just helping others. Helping others is a very noble, honored focus.
Tim Salmans:I can align with it, but it doesn't mean that maybe the person standing next to me, you know, puts their energy or time into something else. But the reason why I bring that awareness or why I'm even talking about it is as I've been exploring this meaning and how it fits our life and how it fits our world, I keep stumbling up against how common we as a collective, we as a culture and a community, and individuals really seek, You know, we seek evidence. We seek, alliances. And part of that, I think, is because for ourselves, we're wanting that validation. We're seeking validation.
Tim Salmans:We're seeking consensus. We're seeking, you know, something to say, yes. I'm on the right track, and that's great and a good awareness to kinda trip onto. But what I think is available in that experience is what is it that has you still wanting consensus from the world around you to validate your meaning of life? Maybe there's more for you to discover.
Tim Salmans:Maybe there's more for me to discover. Maybe there's more for all of us. But that that's a sign is if you're going out seeking consensus and seeking alignment and seeking, validation, There's something in your foundation that could be like Swiss cheese. Maybe there's a hole there. Maybe maybe there's some energy or attention that is yet to be discovered for you on your path.
Tim Salmans:Again, this is just, you know, philosophy, if you will. And I don't even know the it's philosophy. It's ideas. It's thoughts. It's that's why it is powerful and unpolished, because the unpolished aspect is is let's get in here and let's play with this information and see what it does.
Tim Salmans:And I'll tell you, you know, I just read you 3 quotes from from, you know, meaning in life, and the list goes on and on, 100 and 1000, because we all have our own. And and there's nothing wrong with finding consensus or finding people that align with what we think. It's not a bad thing at all. I think I'm kinda just going down this path though, because we do live in this culture right now where it's really sort of transitioned into adversarial, you know, between the political, toxic political environment, and I don't care what side you're on. It's just, you know, a free for all out there and people want sides and it's just to be right and it's just to make other people wrong.
Tim Salmans:And I'm like, wow. And a lot of these people talk about spirituality or or certain, concepts that forget about the bringing or coming together of of who we are on an individual basis as well as a collective basis. So it's just you know, it's a big topic, obviously, you know, and this, you know, armchair type philosophy isn't gonna, like, fix the world. But the reason why I bring it up today is because maybe it needs to be talked about a little bit more. Maybe it just needs to be more of a general conversation of, oh, wow.
Tim Salmans:Okay. I'm I'm not really in alignment with the meaning that you hold there, but I can see how that is valuable for you, and that's great. You hold that space. Another branch that this this kind of exploration took me off into, though, was been working around a lot of, concepts of labels and the labels that we live in in our everyday world, I mean, the meaning of life is our own label that we put to it. The meaning that we and maybe it's not the meaning of life.
Tim Salmans:Maybe it's just the meaning of my work ethic or the meaning of my, relationships or or self love or or belief system. But one thing that goes along with this is the labels that we attach to it. Like, why do these labels why do the labels that we come and that we've lived in our whole lives and we will continue to live in, why do they exist? Where do they come from? How do I manage them?
Tim Salmans:Because they're never gone. Your labels will never be gone. Oftentimes, I I think of labels as how they stick to us. And when we do get a label that sticks to us, then we kind of live into it. We actually breathe energy.
Tim Salmans:We we validate no matter how much we hate the labels. I I've said this for years. You look at someone who becomes incredibly righteous, and if you listen to them closely, they're usually basically, they're railing against themselves. People become that which they hate because they put a lot of energy and focus, and negative energy is a powerful thing. And that energy puts brings focus to it, brings brings it to life, and you'll have people that will start out on a path to help other people or to to to create something positive in this world, which is great, but it's such a crusade.
Tim Salmans:There's such a, a, an angst of energy that is, this has to happen. We have to see, you know, And all of a sudden, if they looked in the mirror, they'd be looking at their enemy because the behaviors have taken them over. And that's how labels stick to us. That's how this energy can can get on us and affect our world, affect our daily lives. So as I did with the meaning, I went out into the world, and there's a ton of quotes around labels and how people relate and and, engage with labels.
Tim Salmans:And, again, with all these meanings or all these labels, I mean, it's great to identify with people who we have a likeness with, that we have a common with. That's that's really what what this is an opportunity to explore is is the relatedness that that happens. It's sort of like with the labels themselves. They they not only stick to us, but we actually bring them to life. We we live into them.
Tim Salmans:We buy into them. I I have numerous examples. And a label doesn't have to be negative. It doesn't have to be positive. It it can be either or.
Tim Salmans:And the other thing too about talking about labels and about talking about meaning that we put on things is that it can be positive. It can be negative. It can be neutral, and it can also occupy the same space at the same time. And what I mean by that is this. Something can be good and bad at the same time.
Tim Salmans:One example that jumps to mind is chemotherapy. It's a poison. We put it into the body to kill off cancer cells. The theory is that it's gonna do some good though because it will re remove or reduce the cancer cells to where the body can actually come back and give it a fighting chance and heal. But there's many other things out there that whether you think of it as a duality or a multiality of our universe or our experience, things can occupy the same space at the same time, positive and negative, good and bad, right and wrong.
Tim Salmans:You know? But that's not typically how we as individual beings or souls walking around relate to this world. We relate it's black. It's white. It's right.
Tim Salmans:It's wrong. It means this. How can you seriously think it means that You've never walked in these other people's shoes. Maybe it does mean that to them. So it's just something to consider.
Tim Salmans:So like I said, I I had jumped into, looking at quotes around meaning, and I found a ton around labels. And the ones I picked, I I think are pretty interesting. And again, there's 1,000 and 1,000 upon more of these quotes, but this is one, Nami Watts, I can really, relate to her. I mean, not only from what she says in the quote, I think, you know, I've appreciated her acting skills for years. And for her to be this real in this quote, I think, is a very powerful statement of who she is as an individual.
Tim Salmans:But her quote states, all types, kinds, negative, positive, etcetera. Actually, no. That's not her quote. It's the next quote. Her quote says, I had got that's the unpolished part.
Tim Salmans:Let's let's just laugh at that for a second. That's the unpolished part about this. There's, there's a lot to laugh about, about the unpolished part about this, but that was a key one. So just so that we could clear on that. Anyway, Naomi Watts, she she said, I had gotten to a place where I truly believed everything I was called.
Tim Salmans:Not sexy, not funny, not intense, desperate. All those labels they gave me, I took them because there wasn't a trace of my own true self left. And that's what the labels do to us. The the what made me kinda go down this path today was to really explore you know, I've gone back into my past and all the different intensive workshops that I've gone through and trainings and, you know, the the awareness development over the years and just the gift of the path and the lessons along the, the way. And to realize that virtually for the first two and a half decades, from pretty much till I was like 2 to 27 years old, I was living an illusion.
Tim Salmans:I was I was a chameleon bouncing in and out of every group or click or everything I fit into, but I didn't stay. I didn't wanna fit into one specific group. So I was a chameleon, and the versatility was can be a great powerful thing. But when you have no foundation, like Naomi says, you know, there wasn't a trace of my true self left. That's what she said.
Tim Salmans:I got to be 27 years old. I had no clue who I was. I was doing what the world told me to do, told me to be. I was dancing in and out of everyone else's meanings and and all the labels that had been put on me. I was making sure that they were valid.
Tim Salmans:Whether I liked them or not, it didn't matter. So so that's Naomi's quote there, and that's sort of how I related to her in that quote. Because it was it was very challenging, but it was it's been a good path. I'll I'll put it that way. It's been a good path in many, many respects for me.
Tim Salmans:What I my the next quote that I came up with, it's Susie Sue is the person that's quoted. And what it says is what I really resent most about people sticking labels on you is that it cuts off all the other elements of what you are because it can only deal with black and white. And that's a very valid perspective. I mean, Susie Sue's perspective is very valid. One reason why this quote jumped out at me was to highlight the fact of just because someone sticks a label on you, the only reason it sticks is because you take it on.
Tim Salmans:Plain and simple. People will throw labels at you all day long every day. They'll throw names. They'll throw everything, and some of them will stick to you. And it might be because of that hint of fear or insecurity or issue that maybe you didn't deal with or haven't dealt with or whatever the case is.
Tim Salmans:And unknowingly, those little labels when someone throws them at us, they do stick because we don't realize that we've allowed an opening for that to happen. So just a little awareness around, you know, just because someone wants to stick a label on you, it'll only stick when you actually give it the space to allow it. The next one was one that, I think you'll understand why I picked this one. The next quote is from, Chirlane McCray, and the quote says, labels put people in boxes, and those boxes are shaped like coffins. And that sort of goes back to what I was just saying about Susie Sue's is, you know, labels that people put on you, it is.
Tim Salmans:They're trying they're trying to put you in a box. Don't climb in. Don't participate. And sometimes the way to not participate is to walk away. And but it all you know, every every as I say this, again, it's depends on your unique sick situation, your unique circumstance.
Tim Salmans:This is just an awareness for you as the individual. Wow. Is there an area where I have an opening that somebody sticks a label to me or there's a label that I've really bought into? My one of my big labels for the 27 years that I didn't know myself, I was labeled learning disabled in the 1st grade. And I took it on because I was like, oh, these experts, these are, you know and then what I realized was this was a great label because then the school system didn't know how to deal with me because I didn't know how to deal with me.
Tim Salmans:So it's better to, you know, put this label on me, and what I realized was the label was learning disabled. I wasn't learning disabled. I loved to learn. I just learned differently than most people. But it took me 27 years and a lot of skin, knees, and bruises, and living through life, the bumps and everything of living through life, that woke me up to it.
Tim Salmans:And then it was like, wow, okay. That foundational piece, it's nice to get back to. The labels and the meanings, they lead to reactions. So the reason why I highlight that is we're in a reactionary world. There's a reason why human beings love to watch anything and everything from puppies to kittens to bunny rabbits to car wrecks, to fights, to I mean, it's, it's all on YouTube.
Tim Salmans:It's all on social media. It's all out there. Because we have these reactions, and these reactions can get us charged up. The interesting thing, though, about when we have the reactions, It's like someone throws a label on us and, and, and whether it's label or something else, I mean, it could be a designation. It could be meaning.
Tim Salmans:It could be anything. But when they throw it on us and then we go into reaction, and it could be a family or friend or a perfect stranger or a boss or whatever. But when we go into reaction, what we end up doing is we throw we throw these, like, invisible strings out into the world. And these invisible strings become the tools that the world then makes us dance and play like. We become the puppets to those around us.
Tim Salmans:Now our identity and our ego is like, oh, no, I'm still independent. I'm still, and it's like, really? Because you're hugely reactive and people are pulling your strings. There's a lot of that going on in the world nowadays. Political propaganda on both sides is rampant with it.
Tim Salmans:And it's just being aware that it's like going, okay. I'm a human being. I'm gonna have a reaction, but I don't need to be stuck on the reaction. It's when we're stuck on the reaction that the strings play us like marionettes. Like we are these little puppets dancing around on stage and then, you know, it's because, oh, I'm pissed off and I'm mad.
Tim Salmans:And you ever noticed how. If you, if you know someone in your, your life, I know someone and I've known a few people in my life throughout the years that unless there was angst and anger and frustration, they wouldn't be happy. I mean, it sounds contrary or contradictory, but I know people, if they're not complaining, they're not they don't feel themselves. They don't feel like if things are going good, they gotta screw it up because it's just we can't have too many good things for too long. I need something to bitch and complain about.
Tim Salmans:And maybe you know somebody I like that out in your world. Maybe you don't. Maybe you happen to be that person and don't know it. You know what I mean? I hope not, but it's possible.
Tim Salmans:But the awareness is to recognize that whenever you are reactive in these situations, you just gave your power away. And it's like the labels. The The only reason why the labels stick is because you give a space. You give it energy to stick. Well, the only reason why these people can play you and get you all riled up and get you all aggravated and into your charge and you get you get high on the the adrenaline or the the endorphins or the the whatever, any chemical that's within your body going into reaction, it keeps the patterns alive.
Tim Salmans:And a pattern is a reaction that has occurred over and over and over again. And that's how most people or a lot of people or a significantly lot of people live the life of a human doing instead of a human being because they've gotten through these patterns of reaction, reaction, reaction. And it doesn't always have to be negative. I mean, it could be reaction of, you know, something that's, again, neutral, could be even positive. But if you're in a pattern, you've lost some of your authentic response.
Tim Salmans:You've lost some of your creative ability to be in that essence of the moment. The belief it's these beliefs that hold the negative reaction or charge to you. What I'll what I'll share with you is this, and this is to try to sum it up. Does you know, there's a lot here to consider if it makes any sense to you at all. It may be crazy, but, I mean, if it makes sense to you, there's a lot here to consider.
Tim Salmans:But there's one thing that I've gotten really clear over the years through doing a lot of this deep work and studying is you really discover that when somebody has an issue, let's say they get really upset or pissed off because somebody's out there in the world doing, saying something about you or or, you know, says, oh, you're a, you know, you're a bad whatever. You could be a bad, democrat, a bad republican, a bad Buddhist, a bad Christian, a bad farmer, a whatever. It could be anything that someone tries to put on you, kind of like how I was talking about the strings playing the puppets. This could be a person that's just trying to play you, to manipulate you, and they know buttons to push. And if they're hitting buttons on you and you're getting really aggravated and reactive in, to these situations, I would challenge you or, encourage you to look and see if this belief system that they are attacking or touching on that that is a nerve for you, I challenge you to see if that belief system is authentically and truly your own.
Tim Salmans:Because I've seen over the years that when somebody gets so aggravated or attacked, they go into the reaction of victim, which is just another form of re retaliation of power. And the reason why I say to question whether this is truly your own belief system is that if it was truly your own belief system, why would you have to defend it to somebody who doesn't have a clue what you know? It's something to think about. When I see somebody get so reactive in a situation, I highly suspect that their belief system, whatever's making them be righteous and go into this sort of, you know, retaliation sort of victim state, It's usually because somewhere on their path, somebody said, this is how it's supposed to be. This is how you should do it.
Tim Salmans:So it was somebody else's training. It was somebody else's belief system. It was somebody else's label. It was somebody else's meaning, and they handed it over to you. And you never actually really developed the relationship with what that meant.
Tim Salmans:And when you step into the meaning of things that you believe, you can have somebody come up to you and tell you everything that you believe is wrong. And if you truly can embrace the relationship that you have with that meaning, the fact that this bird this person brought their angst, their opinions, their manipulation over to you means nothing if you own the meaning. Probably a better way to say it I'm sorry. I get lost in some of these, like, deeper kind of philosophical kind of paths. But, you know, when somebody's got you reactive, that's really the time for you to go and say, is this my belief system?
Tim Salmans:Because if it is, I don't need to defend myself if I truly know and own what I believe. If you truly own and know what you believe, then you're golden. Because anybody can come try to dump their trash on you. And you know that that's just a manipul manipulation play on their part. They're trying to reattach the strings to play you.
Tim Salmans:Hey. If you believe what you believe, you don't need to be so responsive or or reactive in a response. But if you are hugely reactive in a response, then maybe it's time to start really looking at that issue for yourself. Just something to consider, if you will. But to wrap it up, I'm I'm I did share this quote a, a couple podcasts ago, but I have 2 different quotes from Viktor Frankl, and he's just, you know, I just admire who this person is, but this goes along with what I was just sharing with you.
Tim Salmans:Viktor Frankl's quote in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, between stimulus and response, there is a space, and in that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. And that goes along with what I was just sharing with you. When we know how we own and embrace our value, then we can choose how we respond. His other quote was everything can be taken from you, but one thing, the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances to choose one's own way.
Tim Salmans:When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. And that's really just thoughts. That's for today. Around meaning, around labels, around ideas that get us aggravated or worked up. So hope it's interesting.
Tim Salmans:Hope it's hopefully insightful. At some point, I hope it's a little bit entertaining, but, you know, it is a heavier subject, but I'd I'd like to get real with life. So but thank you very much for those of you who have listened and continue to listen. I just really appreciate you, participating and being open, pulling apart the ideas. And even if you don't agree with them, just, you know, hey, let us know.
Tim Salmans:But what I'd say is if you can, do me a favor, tell a friend or put on a review, go on to Apple or Spotify and and put a review out there for us. It it it will help as we grow and get stronger in this process and and see how we can be a resource for those out there in the world. But, yeah, again, just if you could put a review on Apple or Spotify, I'd greatly appreciate that. Everything helps. Put a review on here, and thank you very much for listening today.
Tim Salmans:I hope you have a great week ahead of you. And until next time, I'm wishing you all the best. Cheers for now. Thanks for joining me today.
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