# When Confused about Meaning By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-06-17 Humans are meaning-making animals. Our ability to abstract and create meaning is one of our higher-order capacities and has enabled significant progress. But meaning isn’t always easy to derive. There are situations in which people frequently get confused about meaning. They are looking for the “right” meaning and are unable to have confidence in their ability to do so within that context. Two situations come immediately to mind: watching art films and viewing abstract art. In those contexts, people often feel out of their depth. Common meaning patterns don’t seem to work well. They are at a loss. When confused about meaning, it is often helpful to forget about it, at least momentarily, and focus on how one feels. Describing how one feels in experiencing the confusing thing outside of meaning can be an effective starting point for developing the meaning. It is often helpful to start with the disorienting feeling associated with being unable to form meaning. Sometimes art is “meant” to confuse and disorient. Perhaps its meaning is to highlight that our day-to-day conventions make meaning creation automatic and subconscious, and the meaning was to disorient so that meaning creation became laborious and the focus of conscious attention. Or maybe the work was simply done poorly, and its lack of quality is a barrier to effectively making meaning in that context. The main point here is that one’s feelings are important. Mr. Rogers said that feelings are mentionable and manageable. It is important to discuss one’s feelings, especially when one is confused. Discussing the confusion is a way to work through it. When one says they didn’t like a movie or a piece of art, they might be conveying something deeper. The same is true within organizations. People don’t like given decisions. Perhaps they don’t like that decision because it is fear-inducing. The decision has focused on the precariousness of the organization, its future, and the individual’s livelihood. When confused about meaning, focus on feelings. They tell us more than we think. #### Related Items [[Art]] [[Thinking]] [[Emotions]] [[Confidence]] [[Purpose]] [[Meaning]]