THE BIOGRAPHY OF A WISE ONE

 … And one of the wise one stood up and made a rhetorical reading of his biography.

 The biography is still inspiring as at today …

 1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 

7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 

9. What profit hath he that works in that wherein he labour? 

10. I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 

11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God make from the beginning to the end. 

12. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 

13. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 

14. I know that, whatsoever God does, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God do it, that men should fear before him. 

15. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God require that which is past.

16. And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 

17. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 

18. I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 

19. For that which befall the sons of men befall beasts; even one thing befall them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 

20. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 

21. Who know the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that go downward to the earth? 

22. Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

 What is life?

What is the meaning of life?

What was I created to do?

What is my life purpose?

What is the very thing I was created to do?

 

The search for meaning is an ageless pursuit by humans. It is as ageless as the earth.

 

It has be defined in several ways by different across different generations:

To some, it is a hopeless game of hide and seek

To some, it the cut throat rat race and dog eat dog lifestyle

To some, it is as boundless and border-less as the oceans of the world

To some, it is looking for a needle in a haystack

To some, It is God’s gift to man

To some, It is day to day living

To some, it is an elusive search

To some, it is over-rated

To some, it is the gift of kindness and nurturing

To some, it is an unwanted burden

To some, it is a hope for a better tomorrow

 

Wisdom calls out to all, and advises us all that in all we do, we should put in our very best and do it well today.

 

Life’s meaning comes when we see life as an opportunity to witness daily miracles, to do better than our yesterday and to prepare for a time when we shall no longer be here.

THE CONTINUUM

 … She begins her new story with the word of wisdom from the last one. She has a plethora of stories to share and we, children just enjoy the fun time plus the sweets Mama shares ...

It is the weekend again and Mama has called us for another moonlight story. Today’s story will be shared in her parlour and not under the Mango tree because we are in the rainy season.

Today, she began, I want to tell you a story about the men and women of our town. Just as the Sun rises and sets, all the men and women of our town will rise and set.

It is the law of life, Mama said, and there is nothing we can do about it. Just as the Sun shines for longer hours some days and lesser hours some days; some will live a longer life and some will live a not so longer life. The certainty that either we live long or not so long; we will soon be gone from this life to be replaced by others, just as we have replaced the former remind us that life is a continuum.

What is Continuum ask Alan, my son it simply means “something that comes and go with no end” just like the rainy season that comes and go every year without end. Before we were born, there was rainy season; in our lifetime, there is rainy season; when we are long gone, there will still be rainy season.

The longevity and brevity of life is not what you should fear nor that life is a continuum because there is nothing you can do about it.

You should fear having the opportunity to live and never truly living. To avoid that you need to always do better than your yesterday.

My children, there will be up and down in life but always strive to be better than you were yesterday. Be bent on being better than your yesterday.  

Like this continuum, called life; you will soon be gone; your pain and your opportunities will be gone also; and others will replace you like you replace the people that were here before you.

When in eternity, you peek into this life, will you be satisfied you did your best.

This is the end of my story today my children.

Let us sing our closing song for today.

Good, better, best

I shall never rest

Until my good is better

and my better is best

I shall never rest.