Musings on LIFE

This is "La Penseur" or "The Thinker" by Auguste Robin, a popular French sculptor who revolutionised the art of sculpture in the modern age. This statue is yours sincerely's favourite as it reflects much of his contemplative thoughts which battle within him in a power struggle.

Yours sincerely finds that the game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy. So, keeping the right spirit is vital to keep away idle and negative thoughts. Fulton J. Sheen says that it is like a cash register, in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale, is registered and recorded.
Or that life is an echo, what you send out - comes back!

Sometimes I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard." I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?" Life is to be enjoyed, not endured. So, enjoy life. There is plenty of time to be dead. Life is not a dressed rehearsal! It is the real thing. Some people go around saying that the world owes them a living. The world owes no one anything. It was here first! I like what Aung San Suu Kyi says " It is no simple matter to decide who are the more fortunate - those to whom life gives all, or those who have to give all to life." We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from it.

In living, it is not doing the things we like, but liking the things we do that makes life happy according to Goethe. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact. John Burrough says that he still finds each day too short for all the thoughts he want to think, all the walks he wants to take, all the books he wants to read, and all the friends he wants to see. Strive to do the common things of life uncommonly well. I like what I read on the wall of Hong Leong Bank at Jln Teluk Wanjah, A. Star : "If better is possible, good is not enough." You will get life's rewards.

Yet, we see many people are so busy day in and day out. It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is : what are they busy about? William James says that the great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. And make sure that the thing you are living for is worth dying for. And also a man who has nothing that he would die for has little to live for. Martin Luther hits the nail on its head when he says that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

In life people ask and ask, why do bad things happen to good people. Our clergies cook up all sort of theologically sound answers only to be doubted. Well, expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian. Life is a blend of laughters and tears, a combination of rain and sunshine. And do not complain about life's unfairness. It is never - at best, it is impartial. We learn the rope of life by untying the knots. William Shakespeare puts it right that life is a tale told by an idiot - full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Slow down and enjoy life. Pull to the left lane of "Ikut Kiri Jika Tidak Memotong." It is not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Abraham Lincon says it very accurately that in the end it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years. It is not its length but its depth. The earth belongs to the living, not to the dead.

The Cherokee Indians once say that when you are born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. I always wonder how so many Christians sing so many beautiful hymns of heaven and lament how they long to go there , and yet so many Christians are afriad of death, even the mere mention of it is a taboo. It is also paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old does not appeal to anyone. You only live once; but if you live it right, once is enough according to Adam Marshall. Quite true, eh?

Anyway, don't take life too seriously, you will never get out of it alive but also remember that every man dies; not every man lives.