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One of the most-asked questions Chief Joseph gets in private readings is "Why am I here - - what’s the meaning of my life?"

John Cali

Last week I was watching Tomorrow Is Today, a movie on a recent DVD from the Spiritual Cinema Circle. It reminded me of what was probably the last film I saw in a movie theater, Life Is Beautiful. That was back in the late 1990s.

The themes of both films are similar. They celebrate life and love amidst daunting, terrifying circumstances.

In Tomorrow Is Today, one of the main characters is dying from a congenital heart defect, and several others are dealing with the sudden, tragic deaths of loved ones.

In Life Is Beautiful, the setting is in the horrifying death and destruction of a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

But throughout both films, life goes on and love triumphs. Both leave you with a renewed sense of appreciation for the beauty of the human spirit, and its power to transcend and transform even the most awful circumstances. They make you feel good about being human.

They remind me of Viktor Frankl, the Austrian Jewish medical doctor and psychiatrist who survived three years in a Nazi concentration camp. One of Dr. Frankl’s basic principles was: Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones.

Here’s Chief Joseph.

Chief Joseph

That’s the eternal question: What is the meaning of life? Specifically, what is the meaning of my life?

We realize life often loses its meaning -- or, more accurately -- you lose sight of life’s meaning. But, as Dr. Frankl believed, life has meaning under all circumstances.

None of you, at your soul level, has ever forgotten the meaning of life. And when you all first incarnated, you knew what your souls knew. But then you forgot. It’s easy to forget, especially as you grow older and are facing the world’s distractions and dramas.

Most of you will never have to deal with the daunting, life-threatening circumstances the movie characters and Dr. Frankl had to face. But you all have to deal with the paths you have chosen in this lifetime.

It’s easy for you to tell who among your human family and friends is doing well on their paths, and who is not. There is one criterion, and only one: It’s the amount of joy they feel in every waking moment, no matter how difficult -- or how easy -- their paths are.

You all know people who have outwardly wonderful lives -- material abundance, loving family and friends, good health, and so on -- but who are totally miserable.

And you all know others who are lacking in many of these advantages, but who are still joyful, sailing through life with a smile on their lips and a song in their hearts.

What’s the difference between these two groups of people?

Well, the obvious difference is one group is miserable and the other is happy.

We are not saying everyone who has all the "good things" of life is miserable. Many lead happy, well balanced lives. Nor are we saying everyone who lacks the "creature comforts" of life is happy. Many, obviously, are not.

We are saying your circumstances do not determine the "success" or "failure" of your lives. Only you determine that.

You can find joy and peace in every aspect, in every circumstance, in every relationship, in every experience of your lives. Every one!

And you can also find something to feel miserable about in every aspect, in every circumstance, in every relationship, in every experience of your lives. Every one!

It’s your choice. You can choose your thoughts, your focus. And therein lies all your power. The power to create whatever lives you want, despite outward appearances and circumstances.

You can choose to live from the inside out, or from the outside in. You can let what’s "out there" create your joy or lack of it. Or you can let what’s "in here," in your hearts, create your joy. And then you will be totally free of the shackles of circumstances and the world "out there."

Friends, when you can find joy in your heart, no matter what your outer circumstances are, then you will have found the true meaning of life.

Life is all about finding joy, about remembering who you are and why you are here.

Joy is the answer. Joy is the meaning of your lives.

For more of our articles, go here.

Chief Joseph talks about related subjects here:
Remembering Joy
Joy is the Key to all You Wish For
What is the Best Way to be Joyful?

Want a private conversation with Chief Joseph?

This article was originally published here.

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Since 1992, John Cali has been communicating with a non-physical entity called Joseph. In one of his many physical lifetimes, this spirit was incarnated as the legendary Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe in what is now the state of Oregon in the northwestern USA. These messages are a blend of information from Joseph, other spirits in the "Joseph group," and John.

John can be reached by email here or through their website
Private readings with Chief Joseph are available here: http://www.greatwesternpublishing.org/readings.html
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Copyright © 2007 by John Cali. All rights reserved.

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