[skmurphy]

This is a great essay. The core tensions that he outlines for developing a sense of purpose really resonated for me:

   "I believe that the key to developing a strong sense of purpose and meaning is
    to balance three activities.
    o The first is development of a common understanding with a large group of people
      with whom one is later able to feel a common sense of community.  
    o The second is development of abilities which are not common to your community, 
      and which eventually give you the ability to make a unique contribution
      to your community.
    o The third is making a creative contribution to your community, 
      to something larger than yourself."

[10ren]

The second (abilities unique in your community) is hard, though one way is to learn them from another community where they are common, i.e. cross-disciplinary.