Modern life asks us to trade meaning for power and resilience

When Ana landed her first big promotion, she traded her morning forest runs for early conference calls. With each rung up the corporate ladder, her email inbox ballooned and her cherished weekend hikes faded into fond memories.

Ana was following the modern covenant: give up small pockets of wonder in exchange for power, stability and status. From medieval serfs who betrothed their futures to the Church, to twenty-first-century professionals who worship at the altar of career growth, humanity has always made that trade.

Yet every deal carries friction. Ana noticed that, despite the corner office and a 40% raise, she felt flatter than ever. The Monday morning thrill was gone; the Friday afternoon high didn’t arrive. The power she’d acquired couldn’t fill the hole where meaning used to dwell.

Modern science and sociology show that ritual and story are essential to our well-being. We need shared festivals, simple ceremonies, even local myths about hometown heroes. These imagined narratives give our days texture and anchor our hopes. Without them, each paycheck is just another data point.

So Ana launched ‘Forest Fridays’—one treasured hour in the woods no matter what. She didn’t stop sending work emails, but every week she reclaimed that hour. Gradually, the color came back and even her office felt less like a cubicle of metrics and more like a stage in her own unfolding story.

You’ve already signed the modern deal—so now rebuild a counter-ritual. Pin down your top three power priorities, revive one childhood ritual this Friday, and refuse one power demand that week. You’ll begin to feel how meaning seeps back, making your resilience as real as any corporate success. Try it this week.