Once upon a
time, there was a great king in Israel. His name was Solomon. He had
everything. Literally. He had the favor of God and men – he was the richest
King in the world; people all over the world adored him; his kingdom was big
and getting even bigger; his wisdom was revered; a thousand of wives on his
arsenal. Under his command, even silver was worthless because everyone was more
than able to buy tons of gold!
But even with
all those fame, power and riches, he still couldn’t escape the inevitable
question of life. The one that every person who live this existence, no matter
what ages they are born in, asks themselves.
What is the meaning
of life?
I don’t know
about you, but I often find myself, whether I like it or not, asking questions
such as “What’s the whole point of life?”, “What should I do to make my life
matters?”, “What is the ultimate goal that I should strive for?”
Life is so
short. Even in this young age, I’ve already witnessed various kinds of lives
that people lead. There are ones who practically radiate the aura of happiness,
giving you the impression of them living in the golden years of their lives.
There are ones who are more level – not flashy but nevertheless happy. Sadly,
there are also ones who are surrounded with regrets – their eyes stared at me
with envy due to the chances and opportunities I still have in my young age.
Solomon had been
given all, even more than the richest person in the world now. Did he find the
answers to those questions? Did he finally manage to prove and experience one
thing that makes life matter most? Was it position? Power? Fame? Money?
Attractiveness? Admiration? Wisdom?
What do you
think?
Some of you will
probably think that none of those options appeals to you. Then you are more into
a Tibetan teaching, where “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from
your own actions.” (Dalai Lama XIV) No worry! Solomon had got that covered too,
as is quoted, “My heart took delight in all my labour, and this was the reward
for all my toil.” (Ecclesiastes 2: 10-11)
So, is “pleasure
in labor” itself the true happiness in life?
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and
what I had toiled to achieve, everything
was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
“...nothing was gained under
the sun...”
Solomon had all
the things that most of us are striving for. Nonetheless, he arrived to one
fatal conclusion, that all is vanity and grasping for the wind. Everyone – rich
and poor, strong and weak, good and bad – will eventually receive the same
fate. Death.
Then what’s the
point for all of these ---- because my muse has indeed got me into a dark and
cornered place?
The answer lies
on God. It is true that everything else mentioned – power, money and all – is vanity.
There is no happiness in the end if one is to make them the ultimate price.
Where does happiness lie then? Happiness lies in the Giver of all happiness in
the world.
That we can
rejoice in our food and the works that we have done, it is all God-given. The
God who is capable of giving joy in the greatest thing, is also more than able
to help us find joy in the smallest thing. This leads me to the conclusion that
happiness is a relative, just like power, money and fame. Everything is a
relative. The one constant in all matters is God.
When someone
wants a fruit, they will not be staring at the fruit and hoping that it will
multiply by itself. The logical move is to search for the tree, the source, and
get the fruit from it. Happiness, power, money, fame, and all things both
desirable and undesirable come from God. Isn’t it only logical that we should
chase the source?
People that have meaningful lives were those who are people's heroes. Their meaning of life is to be light for the world. They feel themselves as meaningful for people, their light shines the dark world. That purpose, is to unlock the secrets of the unknowns. What is that meaningful treasure ?
BalasHapusTruth
What a great writing Ms. Angelica, what you trust is what you get. lady, i know we are both believers. the truth
is, the way you write is too bias, and it's difficult to be accepted by general people, your sense of writing need to be more neutral.
food for thought: be aware of not using G-d's name in vain. once you mention His name, there must be powerful influence for the readers.
Hi there!
BalasHapusFirst of all, I'd like to thank you for your kind response. Yet I know I was diving into a very murky water when I wrote this post - it's something that philosophers have been debating for ages.
I can understand your thought about meaningful lives. I myself am striving to be one of those people you mentioned. But sometimes, after all is said and done, it all ends the same. To quote from the Book, "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."
The truth is, sometimes in choosing to be "the light for the world", one is blindsided into working for men. And we know that human beings basically do not concern each other unless it concerns himself.
And the truth is, my brain has been clogged beyond my human boundary since I typed the second half of this post. So, admittedly, this has been a very difficult thing to write, and I expect mistakes like subjective writing may very well happen.
All in all, I appreciate your response and food for thought. It's from people like you that I'm able gain constructive criticism to build my skills.
The things he said were true, nothing was gained under the sun. What is this sun ? this sun he talked about is
BalasHapusthe sun god of Ra. How did he begin to be trapped in those worthless belief ? It was from his Egyptian wife (1 Kings 3:1). because of this so called "love" it made him blind of he was supposed to be, he lost his true nature because of the temptation of his 1000 pagan worshiping wives. He has a lukewarm heart. For it is written that those who are lukewarm are to be spitted away.
Even the wisest man on earth had fallen into a temporary satisfaction, and he didn't had a meaningful life. Even thousands of tons of gold he had and yet, it's still meaningless for him. The very reason he had no purpose of life is because his wives influenced him. He did loose his real blueprint of life because of deciding to have plan B. To be yourself, you must take your stand. Whatever it takes, you take the risk. But if you decided to surrender and live like others do, your life is targetless. To be light in the world is to be yourself and the most challenging one, to be a pioneer.
You need a foundation to have a meaningful life. You can give life a meaning if you have a purpose. A is B because of C. It means your life will have an accomplishment if you have a reason. for it is written to keep on asking and it will be given to you, keep on seeking and you will find, and keep on knocking and the door will be opened. You need that key to find the meaning of life, it is small yet it will be a giant.
What is the only meaningful thing that the great heroes have ?
Faith.
My Lady, It's an honor to meet you. I can see how great you will be if you keep taking this step. Me too, want to be a writer for the hope of people. It's our calling then to change the world, let us shine our light and let the world uncover the truth.
And this is..... simply WOW. You've raised points that have not even begun to form in my mind. For that I thank you.
HapusIt's my pleasure. I will look forward to your work as a writer then!