Life, is the most unpredictable thing anybody could come across. Life can be planned to the very last dot, yet it can always find a way to sneak up on everyone and surprise you with an entirely different plan. However, what is more beautiful than the unpredictability of life is the lessons that it teaches us. With every twist and turn, life teaches us a lesson that goes a long way, and more importantly into helping us in making wiser decisions in the future. This is because when life teaches a lesson it goes to the extent of making sure that the lesson is learnt so well that the same mistake will not be repeated again.
Sometimes, especially the older generation thinks that life is measured by the years a person spends on this earth, when life is really about the countless memories made with family and friends, and the quality of life while living. It is never about how long one has lived, but how well that person has lived.
There are two ways of living. One is living in the moment, and the other is living in the hope of furthering the future. One who lives in the moment does not have any worries in life, and one who lives thinking of the future will always have a backup plan when things go south. While there is no right or wrong way of living since it has to be done according to each person’s desires, one thing is clear. It is that, no matter what’s done in life, it should always justify the mere fact of being alive.
For some, life comes very easy while for others, life is a tough row to hoe. Sometimes this could be thanks to karma, sheer luck or plain hard work. Whatever it is, it should be borne in mind that humans are put on this earth for a purpose, and at times the purpose could be helping another, standing up for another, taking care of another and in extreme situations changing the world for the better. With that all being said we must always keep in mind that the main and most fundamental purpose of life is being happy.
The reason that changing the world for the better has become such an extreme situation is because of the personal, social and political agendas people have created. Thereby they tend to forget some of the most basic things such as committing towards a better world, living conditions and ethics. People should always be reminded how gifted they are to be born as humans, how privileged they are, and for everything they have. They must always bear in mind that what they already have is what someone else is wishing for, and only one who is living without them would know how difficult it is to live otherwise. Having said that, it’s a shame to see that there exist people in the real world who take life for granted as though life happens on a repetition. What many tend to overlook is the fact that what is done as people in this life has a significant bearing as to what the next life will be. Religions, beliefs and historians have taught by their experiences that karma exists, and what is done in this lifetime is a reflection of what might be in the next, if there is one at all.
Henry Ford says, the secret to having a successful life is to find what one is destined to do and then do it. Majority have forgotten this due to the social stigma that has been set by the society as to how one should live, what one should do as a career, how one should behave as a or man or woman, and how one should dress as a man or woman. The society has created social norms and social expectations which has led become socially approved. It’s important that one must not give into the norms set by society, which hinders the ability one has towards committing what life has actually put in motion. As previously mentioned, everyone has a purpose and that purpose should never ever be driven by what the other person thinks is right. Nobody in this world must ever live to please others, and do what is only acceptable and comfortable for others. If flying is impossible one must at east try to fly. Then maybe, just maybe, one could do life better.
The best thing life has to offer is a chance at defining and redefining oneself by the years and years of experiences received by doing life. Like Robert Frost says, life goes on.
Key Words: Life, Happy, Beautiful, Unpredictable, Social Stigma
Written by: Rtr. Bipash Suriyage
Edited by: Rtr. Kalani Siriwardena
Editor