"Most of us lead far more meaningful lives than we know. Often finding meaning is not about doing things differently; it is about seeing familiar things in new ways."
As a lifelong survivor of chronic illness, Remen has more reason than any to believe that her suffering lacks meaning. She insists the opposite, however. Perspective is the tool which she has used to help herself and others identify the meaning of their lives, a meaning which has always been present given a certain insight.
"How strange to think that great pain may be impermanent. Something in us all seems to want to carve it in granite, as if only this would do full honor to its terrible significance. But even pain is blessed with impermanence."
Once again, Remen is the most qualified to speak upon the subject of pain. She observes in herself and in others a predisposition to hold onto suffering, to memorialize it and to assume the future is full of it. Although these attitudes are instinctive, they ignore the very temporal nature of existence. Pain is not cheapened by its departure, but it is made meaningful in light of more pleasant experiences as well.
"Perhaps real wisdom lies not in seeking answers at all. Any answer we find will not be true for long. An answer is a place where we can fall asleep as life moves past us to its next question. After all these years I have begun to wonder if the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company."
Remen shares her hard-earned wisdom with readers in this quotation. As a seeker, she is sometimes disatisfied to learn that she must amend previous conclusions. In fact she urges her reader not to come to conclusions because they must inevitably shift again. The process of questioning and of working in a collective appears to be more rewarding than the painful give and take of arriving at conclusions to "unanswerable questions."
"All life has in it the dimension of the Unknown; it is a thing forever unfolding. It seems important to consider the possibility that science may have defined life too small. If we define life too small, we will define ourselves too small as well."
This is Remen's confession of faith. She maintains that there is an element of the unknown in life itself, so one must remain open to previously unseen ideas. Loathe to form conclusions, she prefers to trust in the unknown for fear of mistakenly making limiting assumptions. This is a clear path of belief, but it is a liberating belief.
