Like most of you, I have, at various times of my life, asked myself the meaning of life, the purpose of life and where does one goes after life. The onset of old age has caused me to visit these questions more frequently....
Not because I wanted answer to these questions – for I have satisfied myself with answers many years ago while still in my early twenties – but more with the purpose of trying to understand how others have arrived at their conclusion to the meaning of life, the purpose of life and where one goes after life.
And I do so not with any intent to quibble or belittle their conclusion to these questions but more with the intent of being able to understand how we all differ from each other in seeking answers to these questions.
Not because I wanted answer to these questions – for I have satisfied myself with answers many years ago while still in my early twenties – but more with the purpose of trying to understand how others have arrived at their conclusion to the meaning of life, the purpose of life and where one goes after life.
And I do so not with any intent to quibble or belittle their conclusion to these questions but more with the intent of being able to understand how we all differ from each other in seeking answers to these questions.
The uncertainties of life’s events invariably brings into focus the most certain event in the lives of all of us – death. Yet as certain as death is for all of us, when we die and how we die is anyone’s guess.
Some of us are driven to try and prolong life for as long as they can and in anyway they can.
Some accept the inevitability of death but believe that there is life after death. They prepare for that life in many ways - through religious beliefs, spirituality …guided by the belief that what they do in their life now will have a bearing on what sort of life they will have after death.
And some continue to seek for answers even as the ravages of time and old age invariably and inevitably demand that they conclude their search sooner rather than later.
And then there are those who live life as they think fit.
What are your inclinations?
To my knowledge, no one has returned from being dead. Common sense tells me that there is no life after death. So what do I do to prepare for death?
Nothing really….nothing!
I have lived my life as I wished with adjustments willingly made when my wife, and later our children, came into our life. Today at 67 I am at a place which can be construed by some to be the result of a life lived without the benefit of spiritual adherence and guidance. Some would say that I am now reaping the benefits of an itinerant life lived without much thought for the norms of society…..and there will be some who will asks me how is it that I can think of leaving my country of birth to settle elsewhere sans the support group of families, relatives and friends?
Believe you me I have asked these questions of myself many a time and always I find myself comfortable with where I find myself yesterday, today and probably tomorrow - if tomorrow comes.
Age finds me now settled in a place where even my wildest hope and imagination could never have dreamed of being in - for Melbourne is indeed a place that I would have wanted to lived and die in from the time I could think. The pursuit of better things that required me to tell untruth and do things I abhor are thankfully no longer an issue in my life today. I have all that I need to keep my physical self ticking. Everything else are satisfied by having a life of moderation content with the things I have and driven by no other wants than the pursuit of happiness and being with the people that I love.
I do concern myself with what is happening around me and write about it in my blog but that is merely to sharpen my mind and to stay connected and grounded with life and others who thinks as I do or not. It is my only "conversation" with others for I value my time alone much too much to want to meet with others.....and there you have it.....my innermost thoughts without any concern if anyone should seek to censure me for being myself.....and this I can do because while blogging allows one to put one's thoughts into the public domain, it also gives one the freedom to be anonymous when doing so.
How many of you dare to bare your thoughts and have others judge you as they think fit? And yet even as I do so, I know that what I let you see of me is only what I want you to see...never enough to know the real me...for how can anyone know anyone when we are all a work in progress until the day we die? And when that happens it really does not matter any more....does it?
For me one truth really matters in life. In the end I truly believe that no success in life can overcome failure in marriage. None! And so I do not intend to not succeed in this most important of life's challenges and will die trying if need be.....and my last conscious thought on this earth would be to ask myself if I had done so.
Age finds me now settled in a place where even my wildest hope and imagination could never have dreamed of being in - for Melbourne is indeed a place that I would have wanted to lived and die in from the time I could think. The pursuit of better things that required me to tell untruth and do things I abhor are thankfully no longer an issue in my life today. I have all that I need to keep my physical self ticking. Everything else are satisfied by having a life of moderation content with the things I have and driven by no other wants than the pursuit of happiness and being with the people that I love.
I do concern myself with what is happening around me and write about it in my blog but that is merely to sharpen my mind and to stay connected and grounded with life and others who thinks as I do or not. It is my only "conversation" with others for I value my time alone much too much to want to meet with others.....and there you have it.....my innermost thoughts without any concern if anyone should seek to censure me for being myself.....and this I can do because while blogging allows one to put one's thoughts into the public domain, it also gives one the freedom to be anonymous when doing so.
How many of you dare to bare your thoughts and have others judge you as they think fit? And yet even as I do so, I know that what I let you see of me is only what I want you to see...never enough to know the real me...for how can anyone know anyone when we are all a work in progress until the day we die? And when that happens it really does not matter any more....does it?
For me one truth really matters in life. In the end I truly believe that no success in life can overcome failure in marriage. None! And so I do not intend to not succeed in this most important of life's challenges and will die trying if need be.....and my last conscious thought on this earth would be to ask myself if I had done so.
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