Today we reach the fourth letter of PERMA. M – meaning. As humans we need to feel a sense of meaning of belonging and worth. This often comes from having a purpose in life. The purpose can help us to focus on what is really important particularly when we are facing considerable challenge or adversity. Of course, the meaning or purpose in life will be different for everyone. Meaning may be pursued through a profession, for many years this was certainly how I found meaning in my life. I think that I did provide for others through my research and teaching. For others it can be found in social or political causes. I find some meaning in my interactions with Les Puces a charity that supports animals in need. In the past I was active in political groups and found meaning through that too. Meaning can be found in creative endeavours and so my work with Les Feuill’Artines, the group that creates different pieces of decoration for the village also provides meaning. For others religious and spiritual beliefs can provide meaning. What is clear is that we can find meaning in many different ways, through our careers or through volunteer or community activities.
As with other aspects of Perma, a sense of meaning is driven by personal values. Research evidence suggests that people who have a sense of purpose in life, live longer, report higher levels of satisfaction and appear to have fewer illnesses. So, developing meaning in our lives can help both us and those around us.
Having had a successful session on Friday afternoon I decided that I should run some crochet sessions from the She-Shed. So, over the weekend I spent some time creating a poster and thinking about what I would get people doing. I have decided to run a first workshop this month at a reduced cost. I want to see whether people enjoy it, to ensure that they learn and hopefully have them provide some good reviews of what I am doing. The poster is now on Facebook. I need to print some in order that I can hand them out locally. There will only be six places on the workshop, I hope that I can fill them.
Sunday was about recharging our batteries. We decided that we would pack a picnic and to go and explore some of the coast that we have not seen before. It would have been very successful had I not sliced my left thumb with a breadknife. Despite this we had a great picnic. I made some gluten free scotch eggs; I don’t make them often they are very fiddly, but I do love a scotch egg. I also bake them rather than deep frying them, so they are slightly healthier. I took a quiche out of the freezer that I made a few weeks ago, so all in all we had quite a feast.
The weather was noticeably cooler on the coast so although we sat and had our lunch, we wouldn’t have sat there all afternoon. Having said that the floral displays that we saw were really quite stunning. There were geraniums in full-bloom in some gardens and other flowers on the sand dunes that we didn’t recognise but again were in full-flower. We stopped for coffee twice. Coffee in France, if you drink it black which we do, is extremely reasonable, it is usually between €1:30 and €1:60 a cup. The dogs enjoyed their trip too.
Today has been about tax. I have been to the local tax office this morning and whilst I still have one or two things to fill out, I will have it submitted ahead of the deadline. This evening I have a gentleman arriving at the gite. He’s German and so far, all of his communications have been written in German, thank goodness for Deepl! I do hope he doesn’t actually expect me to speak German. I learnt some at school but I’m sad to say that it is almost entirely gone now. However, I can say, ‘Welcome, sorry I have forgotten my German’. I hope that’s enough! Wish me luck.
Until tomorrow…
Tales from the Sheshed France 
The beach looks fabulous – sounds idyllic- picnic on a beautiful beach without crowds.
I love the PERMA idea and your reflection on its meanings.
I think the things we value change profoundly as we move through life. Some people just get their heads down, work, play and rarely encounter challenges (other than perhaps professional and relationship issues in early life). As we reach 30s there are lots of child/family issues; which some sail through but for others there are struggles.
Forties can be a time of angst, loss and loss of meaning (while others are absorbed by career progress and wealth accumulation).
Fifties (don’t mention the menopause/ empty nesting/relationship breakdown/ bereavement etc). I was fortunate to sail through the menopause while acquiring arthritis was a very powerful reminder of ageing!
The sixties have (so far) been a time of joy as grandchildren have come along – even as my health deteriorates and my mortality looms large.
One of the great joys of life has been to see James, Jill and Saul marry wonderful partners and have beautiful children and I am fortunate to have a great and loving partner and a wonderfully supportive mum – and wonderful brothers, nephews, nieces and their children.
I suppose what I’m saying is that happiness is linked to a complex web of people (and of course I have lost very dear friends who are always in my heart. Some have moved and some have sadly flown their earthly bodies)
This impermanence and our responses to life’s challenges, our responses to them, and simply luck are all part of the ever changing nature of just being a flourishing human.
SO a day on the beach is to be valued in the moment. The scotch eggs are to be savoured. Our blessings counted
🙏🏽🤗🙏🏽
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Thank you for your response. I love the way in which you have related the ideas to stages or ages of life. I think you are right. Nothing stays the same and ourselves responses change over time. At each stage we can and should count our blessings. Sitting on an empty beach, admiring a turquoise sea whilst eating a gluten free scotch egg is certainly one!
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What a marvellous Blog post Zenna! Sorry about your thumb, though!
Yes, the word PERMA for me, which I have used for two years in my business in La Feuillée, since 2020, is part of ‘PermagreenGro’ , that is an evergreen online business that connects with the sense of perpetual growth, that of evergreen, of permaculture, and of permanence, also of moving or changing something (permanent ‘wave’) durably, making positive changes, as in shifting mindsets and bad habits (transformational coaching). The energy of permaculture, where crgee vćreating the possibilities for sustainable living and ecological management of land and resources.
It s also an element, or part of, the world of permaculture, an absolutely huge topic of management of ecological systems, very much worth researching, as we discovered in the 1970s when Working On Organic Farms (woofing) .
There is so much to permaculture, not just growth , but how plants, animals, climate and terrain, fit and evolve together, the way in which all life survives and segues beautifully in symbiosis, when resources are husbanded as they should be.
The sense of ‘Permanence’ is also reassuring, and dividing the letters down into their intrinsic meaning for example getting a Perm, a permanent wave.
Since the universe is all made up of vibration, energy or waves, according to Nicholas Tesla, that kind of brings us full circle! Or should I say, spiral!
Thanks for the inspiration if this fascinating topic and wordform!
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Thank you for your response and for taking the time to clearly explain how you see the relevance. I am keen to talk about the need for flourishing, I like Martin Seligman’s work on this, so his notion of PERMA as underpinning flourishing needed to be explained.
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