I Want the Ocean: What the movie Soul can tell us about finding meaning
Pixar’s Soul offers one of the most nuanced and accessible portrayals of the search for meaning in modern film. At first glance it seems to be a story about passion and a gifted jazz musician finally getting his big break. But beneath the music, the film asks a deeper and more universal question: What if the thing you believe will complete you is not the thing that gives your life meaning at all?
Joe Gardner embodies a common cultural narrative that purpose is found in a singular, defining achievement. He treats his dream of becoming a professional jazz pianist as the finish line, believing that once he reaches it everything else will fall into place. This mirrors the way many people wait for the “real” part of their lives to begin, whether through a job, a relationship, recognition, or a breakthrough moment that will finally make life feel worthwhile. The film reveals the quiet cost of this waiting. Joe becomes so consumed with arrival that he overlooks small connections, quiet delights, and the simple beauty of being alive. His dream becomes a form of tunnel vision, and he confuses a spark with a purpose. Instead of a life lived fully, he lives a life on hold.
The turning point is not Joe’s musical triumph; it is the ordinary moments he begins to see with new eyes. The soul known as 22 finds wonder in a slice of pizza, in sunlight passing between branches, in casual conversations with strangers. Through 22’s perspective, the film suggests that meaning is not something we acquire; it is something we notice. It is born not from achievement but from presence. Life’s meaning is embedded in the everyday, but we cannot see it when we are waiting for life to “start.”
One of the film’s most profound scenes is Dorothea Williams’s parable about the young fish searching for “the ocean.” The young fish says he is looking for something grand and transformative, while the older fish replies that he is already in it. The younger fish protests, insisting that what surrounds him is only water, and that he wants the ocean. This moment captures a painful truth about being human. We often long for something extraordinary, some achievement or moment that will finally feel like meaning, while missing the fact that we are already immersed in the very richness we seek. Joe believes that the ocean will be fame, recognition, or one perfect night on stage, but when he achieves it he discovers that the feeling he expected never arrives. The dream was never the meaning; it was only one part of a much larger life he had been ignoring.
The film’s ultimate message is that purpose does not come from a single passion, job, or accomplishment. It comes from awareness and the willingness to be present. Meaning arises in the texture of daily life, sharing laughter, touching someone’s hand, witnessing a sunset, savoring a meal, or feeling a flicker of curiosity. The tragedy the film highlights is not failing to achieve a dream but living as though life only begins once that dream is realized.
Soul reminds us that life is already happening and that it is worth noticing. Dreams can guide us and give direction, but when we rely on them to validate our worth, we risk missing the ocean we are already swimming in. Meaning is not a destination; it is a way of seeing, a willingness to be awake to the world we inhabit right now.
