All other life is short and vain
He liveth longer who can tell,
Of living most for heavenly gain
Do good if thou the good wouldst reap,
Who soweth evil reaps the vain
Sow sunbeams all around your view
And find a harvest truly great
Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure;
Sow peace and reap its harvest bright
Fill up each hour with what will last
Buy up the moments as they go
The life beyond when this is past,
Is the ripe fruit of life below”
Having Inner Peace
‘I had all the material possessions I needed – money, cars, women, everything…I had won Wimbledon twice before, once as the youngest player, I was rich. …I had no inner peace. I was a puppet on a string.’ Boris Becker, the world champion tennis player, reportedly contemplated suicide because of the sheer emptiness he experienced in life. Even though he appeared to be successful, he knew his life wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.
Types of Success
It could be surmised that success is of two variants: a temporal success that leaves one feeling empty and dies when one dies; and the success that fulfils the will of a Higher Power. “In whatever man does without “The Higher Power”, he must fail miserably or succeed even more miserably.” So, what does existence mean to you? Why have you been gifted with life? In my opinion, life’s essence entails living and working for ‘The Higher Power’ – Almighty God; wherever and in whatever position I am privileged to find myself – corporate environment, the civil service, academia, politics or the services.
Did I create me?
The One who created me most definitely has a purpose for doing so regardless of who I am now, who I aspire to be or all I set out to achieve/accomplish in life. Nothing in this world is never-ending. All life’s struggles, pains, uncertainties even achievements and accomplishments will one day end. What happens then? The distinguishing factor for all is the value of a life lived in honour of the ‘Gifter of Life’.
It All has an End
Nothing you came with to this world, nothing will you return with. Naked and empty we came; naked and empty we shall return. I can be everything and anything I set my heart to achieve in this world but the only thing that stands the test of time and matters most is what I do or accomplish that stands and passes the eternity test. A day cometh when my Forbes ranking, fortune 500, presidential, ambassadorial, parliamentary status, estate/financial investment, number of degrees and marriage or children cannot speak for me.
What will be My Story?
It is the same death for the poor and the rich. No one is so wealthy as to cook a pot of soup with a bag of salt. I can dream big, aim to break records, set a new pace, bring to fore new knowledge and inventions, be the best GP, Surgeon, Engineer the world has ever had or known but it’s all temporal. In all of these, forget not to insightfully ask yourself, “What is my essence in life? If I am asked how I lived my life, what will be my story?”
