Credit: DH Illustration
It is an interesting thought: the newspaper you hold now in your hands is read because of the thoughts and views that it contains. But what would happen if it had blown away and landed in the hut of an illiterate individual who had no acquaintance at all with the alphabet? The person would perhaps have looked at the squiggles and ink marks on it with interest and then gone on to use it as a wrapper or looked upon it as something to wipe his hands on.
In other words, the marks and words are but a shadow of the real meaning and the deeper intentions. The paper exists, of course, but the ideas it contains have gone missing.
This is a paradigm of the way things are in our lives. We look at the paper and the ink of our lives—the eating, the working, and the sleeping—and believe that this is Life.
The important fact that there is meaning within our lives eludes us completely.
What, then, is the meaning or purpose of Life? Is it a persoanl mission statement that we decide for ourselves? Is it a lifelong quest?How do we find it, if at all we can?
In Rousseau’s words, ‘To live is not merely to breathe; it is to act. It is to make use of our organs, senses, and faculties—of all those parts of ourselves that give us the feeling of existence.’
Each of us is blessed with certain talents because the world we live in needs our individual involvement. Each of us has the responsibility of contributing to the lives around us. It is our shared talents that collectively smooth the long road of Life.
Our talents also help us define who we are. They underline the fact that we count and that we are needed. No one is without capability, and this includes the disabled.
Whether it is an ability to love, to write, or to paint, or a talent for settling disputes, we are required to make a contribution.
By recognising this purpose, we reach beyond the surface meaning of Life. This is the beginning of the search for a greater and deeper meaning, so that positive and respectful action becomes habitual. It is a lifelong quest, but one that brings happiness and peace of mind.