Wednesday, July 7, 2010

One* --the purpose of it all

Some insects live for a week, some only a day. Some, like the cicada, live for many years but spend almost all that time in partial dormancy, bursting out for only a few days or hours to experience the colors of life.

Yet for each of them, no matter the length of their lives, they have the chance to live and feel before death. A lifetime is a lifetime--seconds or years, it matters not, does it? For many parasitic wasps, they have so much to do in a day's time that before they know it, they have expended all their energy and life is ending. For the long-living turtles, they allocate their activities over years and in the end, death comes too. The wasps know not the meaning of time beyond days, and the turtles cannot understand the significance of centuries. I think that because they don't recognize the alternatives (days vs years vs centuries), they don't feel any loss or despair at not being to live longer. If they do, then they are foolish to waste their precious time away in a lamentation. Ironic that many of us yearn for more time instead of making the most of our available time.

How are we supposed to make the most of our time? By being always happy? By making others happy? By saving the lives of millions or winning their admiration? By piling up riches uncountable? The list goes on. Everyone has a different answer because everyone has a different purpose in life. The only thing in common is that anyone who recognizes his/her purpose and works toward it will have made the most of his/her time. To actually achieve the purpose is...I would say, extra icing.  

*first of a series of sentimental/emotional posts. My life has taken on a very different tempo lately due to factors that are some unforeseen and some expected. My mood...more correctly 'my moods'...are fluctuating, changing almost daily. Somehow, this has led me to develop a new sense of purpose and new perspectives. This series try to capture this change.*

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