Serious illness, deep grief, dramatic changes in our circumstances at work or in the family often call us to examine the great questions in life, which are present whether we’re consciously aware of them or not:

• Who are we?
• Where do we come from?
• Why are we here?
• Where are we going?
• To whom (or what) are we accountable?

These are questions about the meaning of life. We may answer them from a philosophical or spiritual perspective. We may live our entire lives without facing them. But often, in the face of a difficult illness, loss, or sense of our aging, they have new urgency. It can be comforting to address them together.