Above and Below

We live Life only once. Life is short and brief. We must make the most of it. Everyone knows this. Not everyone acknowledges it. But it’s true all the same. No amount of chemicals, cloning, technology, medical healthcare, organic foods, face lifting, tai chi exercises, or meditating can halt the coming of Death.

Knowing that we will inevitably Die and leave Earth, what do we choose to do with this short, brief, and one-shot occasion we call Life?

The most common path we are brainwashed into believing is the best route is to spend one-third of Life bent over books to score in Exams, then spend the rest of what’s left of our lives desperately accumulating as much Wealth as possible, only to be forced to leave it all behind when Death unmercifully tears us away from the fruits of our labor.

Yet others spend the first portion of Life halfheartedly flipping through those books we are supposed to pore over, fall devastated when we don’t miraculously score in those All-Important-Exams, then step onto the nearest, most smooth Path we come across, dreaming of What-Ifs and Could-Have-Beens.

Another group of individuals dream a Life of Fame and Overexposure. To be known by as many people as possible seems to be the pinnacle of Success. To have privacy constantly intruded upon seems to be the highest sense of Achievement.

All these people will be taken by Death.

Is that all there is to Life? Living for Yourself, maybe occasionally helping those who lie across Your Path, feeling good about Your Charity, but not bothered if such an occurrence never happened.

Is that all there is to Life? A Life in which we measure success by wealth and popularity, by exams and grades, by power and influence.

Is that all there is to Life? A Life where kindness, reliability, and compassion are simply qualities instilled in order to score a partner. A Life where wealth and status are only a measurement for finding a good mate.

Everyone wants to gain as much as possible from Life before they have to face Death. Does anyone think of what they can give to Life?

Life may not be as simple as Goodwill and Making-A-Difference. Yet all these requirements we place on Life – Wealth, Grades, Status, Acquaintances – makes one wonder the true reason why there exists this thing called Life.