"Aloof and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long path before me leading wherever I choose,
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune..."
WALT WHITMAN (1819 - 1892)
The one thing we can be sure of on this
earthly life is that we are born and we will also die one day too! Whatever
your spiritual beliefs are, whether or not you agree there is another world
after this one, life after life, one thing is certain and that is that this
life on the earth plane does not last forever. Even if you feel there is some
truth in the theory of reincarnation, it still means that each life must end
before another one can begin. So, what about this current life you are living,
what is it all about? As with most other discussions, I can only give a
completely true and honest answer from my own experiences and perception.
As I was growing up I was always told
that 'life is what you make it' and for a long time I found that saying very
irritating because it seemed to imply that everything I did and that 'happened'
to me was all in my control and because there were lots of challenges in my
life from quite a young age, I felt like I was doing something wrong. I'm sure
that there are many people who can identify with that and wonder what the point
of life is and I would really like to encourage all people to take the time to
think long and hard about who they are and where they are going, as the great
Walt Whitman was also quoted as saying in his poetry "Carpe Diem - Seize
the Day!"
Let us look at this statement,
"Carpe Diem", what does it mean? I strongly believe that we all come
here for a purpose, maybe to learn or experience certain things, possibly to
offer a great service influence or make a significant difference to someone or
many people. Yet though we may effectively be born to do certain things or have
particular experiences, and as children we openly role play, imagine and dream
and often have definite ideas about where we would like our lives to go. Just
remember when you were a child, your hopes, dreams and ideas, what did you
want, how did you feel about life back then? Often it seems that because 'life'
takes over and we learn to stifle or 'forget' our true pathway.
Sadly it often takes the experience of
someone close to us dying or another traumatic occurrence that leaves us
feeling empty and alone for us to say, 'what is my life about?' 'why am I
here?' 'what is the point when we are born and then just die?' All of these are
perfectly natural questions and are often very positive because it could be the
start of a personal search into the meaning of life, and as one of those people
who decided to choose that route, I can say from the bottom of my heart that it
was the best thing I ever did. You may question how I can so clearly say it was
the best decision I have made and I would then say to you that although the
path I chose was extremely hard, it has also brought the most amazing self and
spiritual awareness, as well as some of the happiest moments I have had in my
entire life!
To find true contentment and joy in life, I believe it is necessary to come to terms with the knowledge that everything is a balance, i.e., positive and negative, good and bad, happiness and sadness etc. Once you are able to get your head around that, it can: help to sort out how you feel about many things, make you look at things in different way, 'out of the box' and start questioning where you may be going in life. I often hear people say that 'if there is a God, he/she must be a wicked or vengeful God because of all the death, wars and pain in the world' and whilst I understand why people feel like this at times, it is also worth remembering that we learn more about ourselves and the lives we live by experiencing sadness and difficult times. We can become stronger, more courageous and more understanding of self and others and the effects of our actions on other people.
Challenging experiences also give us the opportunity to change the things that are not working in our lives and move on to much more positive encounters because we are given the chance to learn from mistakes and try new pathways on the journey of life. So as the great Mr Whitman says "henceforth I ask not good fortune, I am good fortune!", otherwise meaning that it is not what you have or own in your lifetime, possessions are not so important, it is more about who you actually are.
Challenging experiences also give us the opportunity to change the things that are not working in our lives and move on to much more positive encounters because we are given the chance to learn from mistakes and try new pathways on the journey of life. So as the great Mr Whitman says "henceforth I ask not good fortune, I am good fortune!", otherwise meaning that it is not what you have or own in your lifetime, possessions are not so important, it is more about who you actually are.
