How to Live a Meaningful Life – Lessons From the Sanctuary of Truth

When we visited the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya recently, I knew it was going to be more than an opportunity to admire the carvings and extraordinary craftsmanship. In the brochure, I noted how the amazing wooden carvings were born from ideas and philosophies about people and how to live a meaningful life.

The Sanctuary of Truth is completely carved from wood. Moreover, every carving, hallway, and sculpture focuses on exploring timeless questions and philosophies about being human. Questions that people have been asking for thousands of years.

Walking through the sanctuary and seeing these ideas in carvings all around me brought many of those messages to life. Moreover, it made me think. To deeply consider how we live our lives. Indeed, how many people don’t know how to live a truly meaningful life. How common is it for people to focus on accumulating or chasing material possessions, yet still feel empty? Furthermore, many people forget that it’s often the simple things in life—values, philosophies, long-held truths, and how to be a good human—are what really matter. Often it’s these things that help us feel fulfilled.

Questions That Help Explain How to Live a Meaningful Life

• Who are we?
• What is the purpose of life?
• What kind of legacy do we leave behind?
• What does it mean to be a good person?
• How should we live alongside others?

As someone who spends every day helping people create meaningful and lasting change, much of what I saw really resonated with me. In this blog, I want to share a few lessons that stood out for me. These are lessons that I hope might inspire you and give you a few reminders and tips on how to improve yourself and live a meaningful life.

Even when we are doing well, there is always something we can improve on. Furthermore, timeless wisdom is always just that—timeless.

1. The Key Question – In the End, What Really Remains?

The third truth explores something many of us prefer not to think about: the end of life. Its message is beautifully simple. We enter this world with nothing. And we leave with nothing.

What remains is the imprint we leave behind through our actions, both good and bad. Or what I remember hearing once—the dash that sits between the day we are born and the day we die on tombstones. That small mark which represents our entire life. This represents everything we have done and who we have been—traits and characteristics, such as:

• Our kindness.
• Our generosity.
• Our integrity.
• The people we encouraged.
• Those we hurt.
• The opportunities we created.
• Those we ignored.

I Believe That Success Isn’t Really Measured by What We Accumulate or Achieve.

A better measure is by how we show up, how we live, and what we contribute. I was reminded of a client who, by most people’s definition, was very successful. He was running a thriving business and achieving big goals.

Yet when we explored what really mattered to him, he became aware that much of his time and energy were going into maintaining his level of success. He had forgotten to enjoy the life he’d worked so hard to create. What he really wanted was more time with the people he cared about, more time to pursue his hobbies, and to feel that what he was doing actually mattered. He lacked a sense of fulfilment.

This example is a powerful reminder that achievement and meaning are often misaligned. We often repeat the same things every day because they have become familiar. Furthermore, we are driven to behave in certain ways due to one of our Invisible Patterns. This insight was the catalyst for him to make some major changes to his life and where he spent his time.

I know this story is not all that dissimilar to many other high-achieving professionals. They work hard and sometimes forget to enjoy the journey. Yet at the same time, they ultimately want to become better people. To learn, grow, perform optimally and be their very best. To cultivate their own high-performance mindset. Sometimes we forget that while results are important, it’s who we become along the way that matters.

I believe an important question is:

“What impact and imprint are you leaving on the people around you?”

Long after achievements fade, our actions and the impact we have on others remain. We can leave a lasting legacy after we depart.

2. Wisdom Is Bigger Than Religion

Another section really resonated with me, particularly the section about religion.

Rather than promoting one religion over another, the Sanctuary explores the philosophies and wisdom that different civilisations have contributed over centuries. No matter where we come from, or what religion we choose to believe in or not, there are certain principles that transcend everything and are timeless. Principles that contribute to how to live a  meaningful life. They are:

• Be kind.
• Act with integrity.
• Take responsibility.
• Respect others.
• Keep learning.
• Serve something bigger than yourself.

Whether those ideas come from Buddhism, Hinduism, Stoicism, Huna philosophy, psychology, or modern neuroscience almost becomes secondary. Good principles last because they are exactly that. Good principles. I believe a powerful question to ask ourselves is whether we actually live by them.

3. Purpose Doesn’t Just Happen, Yet It’s a Key Part of How to Live a Meaningful Life

The fifth truth asks a question that many people quietly struggle with or spend time contemplating.

“What is the purpose of life?”

It’s a question that takes time and thought to work on to answer. Furthermore, it doesn’t usually simply appear one morning when you wake up. It requires a lot of thinking, conscious choices, and intentional actions.

You have to live according to your values, have a cause or reason for doing what you are doing, and connect with this in your heart. Many years ago, on a personal development course, I heard something that stuck with me. The trainer said she believed we have two purposes. Our first purpose is to get to know who we are.

The second purpose is to have a focus bigger than us and outside ourselves. And then, to do something meaningful that positively impacts others. While our primary purpose remains constant, our secondary purpose may change during the course of our lives. In other words, getting to know ourselves is a lifelong pursuit, yet the good that we do and our focus and passion can change along the way.

Spend Time With Good People

One part of the display spoke about the importance of choosing good influences and avoiding companions whose behaviour consistently leads us away from what matters. The brochure uses the rather old-fashioned word roguish, but I think the message itself is timeless.

The people around us influence us, often whether we realise it or not. That is worth remembering, and it’s worthwhile to remember this question:

“Who is influencing the person I’m becoming?”

As Jim Rohn famously said,

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Whether or not we take that literally, the principle is important. The people we spend time with can influence our thinking, attitudes, habits and behaviours. They can encourage us to grow, or to stay exactly where we are.

Remember, living a meaningful life is about making choices that support the person we want to become and the life we want to live.

4. Every Society Has Two Sides

The sixth truth compares society to a two-sided coin. There is good and there is bad. Both coexist, and neither can be ignored.

The challenge isn’t pretending negativity doesn’t exist, or which side we contribute to. It’s about the choices we make every day and the countless opportunities we have. We can be positive or negative, complain or create, act or procrastinate.

Do you complain or contribute?

Judge or understand?

React or respond?

Encourage or criticise?

To me, this relates clearly to our mindset and our attitude. Are you a half-glass-full or half-glass-empty person? Do you take full responsibility for your life, or do you blame others? How is your attitude? Do you judge others or criticise others, or yourself? How is your mindset? Is it predominantly positive or negative?

Working on our mindsets and attitudes is a crucial part of understanding how to live a meaningful life. We change one step at a time. One decision, one thought, one choice, one intentional action.

So, How Do We Live a Meaningful Life?

One of the things I loved most about the Sanctuary of Truth is that it doesn’t try to give you all the answers. Instead, it encourages you to ask better questions. Questions that many of us forget to ask as we tell ourselves we are too busy.

• What kind of person am I becoming?
• What legacy am I creating?
• Am I living according to my values?
• Am I making a positive difference?
• What really matters to me?

As I walked through the Sanctuary, it was obvious that it is still a work in progress. There are many areas and carvings to be completed. Rather like us. Our lives are a work in progress. One small change, one step forward. An insight and realisation can open new doors and new possibilities.

How to Live a Meaningful Life is About the Small Choices We Make Every Day, Not a Single Action.

It’s about:

• Our habits.
• Our responses.
• Our integrity.
• Our kindness.

In many ways, these are shaped partly by our Invisible Patterns. They shape our lives and the legacy we leave behind. When we discover an old pattern and release it, new possibilities open up. Awareness is always the first step to change. The more awareness we have, the greater our potential to change our lives positively, take control and live our best lives.

Don’t forget, even if our jobs change, our successes fade, and we give away our stuff, the kind of person we are and how we touch others can last for a long time.

Finally, here’s a question to ask:

“If someone were describing the legacy you’re creating today, what would they say?”

And if the answer isn’t quite what you’d like, think about what one small step you could take this week to make a shift. A new decision, a different thought, or a better choice or intentional action. And then, take another one. Consistency is the key to lasting change.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Perhaps you have visited this fascinating place or another memorable site around the world. Do let me know!