To be or not to be begins now or never

Just before end of last year, the father of a good friend of mine passed away. Days after that, a friend’s sister died of illness at the age of 26! Beginning of this year, one more friend was mourning over her father’s sudden departure.

These recent losses made me reflect on words I often hear from inspirational speakers. Them saying, ‘You are in control of your life. You can do whatever you want to do’ now appeals to me like more of a myth (and not just a cliche).

When we were born, it wasn’t our choice to be a boy or a girl, to be born black or white, to come from the East or West, to be a child of a poor or a rich family,etc. All such things happen by default, and you just have to make the most out of what you get when you came into being!

There are also people who don’t deserve to die today but they do, and there are as well those who don’t deserve to live but they still do (ironically even longer and stronger).

We are not in full control of our lives at all. Does it mean ‘que sera sera, whatever will be will be’ then?

Certainly not!

Though we can’t control many aspects of our lives, what would make a huge difference is what we do today that determines what we become in the future. We can also live our lives fuller, healthier and happier in a way that we no longer have to fear death when it comes to us. But all these depend on the choices and actions we make today. It all begins in our minds.

For instance, if we see life as a competition and start comparing ourselves with others (which we typically do) in many areas of our lives especially in terms of success, accomplishments, beauty, material possessions, relationships, jobs, etc., then that’s when the going gets tough(er).

When that happens, we just gave easy access for envy, jealousy, pride and contempt to come into our lives like a virus that can spread out quickly and sabotage (if not kill) that full, healthy and happy life we’re all eyeing for.

If we know how to play our cards well, there’s really no reason to entertain jealousy or envy. We all have our own unique stories and roles to play. Ecclesiastes 9:11 says it all,

‘The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.’

Of course, there’s nothing wrong about being proud of ourselves for the hard work we’ve done, but any achievement or fortunes that we have now are not ours alone to boast. So instead of proudly looking down at others who are less fortunate than us, how about using our advantage to encourage and help them achieve their full potential instead?

Yes, we may not have that huge influence to change the course of our lives as often and as much as we wanted it to be, but surely there are simple things we can do to make our lives fuller, happier and healthier.

How about forgiving those who have done us wrong or being happy for other people’s happiness? It’s easier said than done, I know, but from personal experience I also know it’s very doable. There’s more to life than being famous or rich, only if we take time to search our hearts and find ways to be better stewards of the life we’re given.

If a genuine smile is all we’ve got to give, then let it be. We’ll never know whose lives we’ll inspire by doing such simple acts of kindness. Besides, we don’t have to know. We will all die sooner or later. And when we do, what would really matter is what we will leave behind for the people we care about to remember us by.

P.S.

I’m not a fan of chain letters or chain messages that are forwarded to my inbox or Messenger, but I’d like to thank Lourdes Japson for sending me one this week. 🙂 I find it inspiring that I decided to copy and paste it here as a supporting text for my week’s blog… and it goes like this:

I’d love to hear from you. You can share your thoughts on the comments box below.