A beribboned package called life

Once in a great while, we ask ourselves “What is life?” Oh, there are as many definitions as there are so many people we've met in this lifetime, places we've been to, events that have happened in our lives, and a truckload of memories that we have built and created through the years.

If we come to analyze it, life is really simple: After our birth, we started learning things at home and in school by observing, imitating, conditioning, questioning, etc. The environment played a crucial part in our personality growth and development, so were the people surrounding us: Our family, relatives, neighbors, yayas, teachers, playmates, classmates, etc. Consciously or unconsciously we picked up values or traits from them and these we applied or practiced in our own lives. And that started the ball rolling. Life then has never been the same again!

Life per se is simple. It is actually humanity that dictates and makes it complicated. We are given a free choice: To live life simply or to live it in a complicated way. Life is like a multiple choice-type of exam. We have to choose the best answer.

Indeed, life is simple. But as human beings, we tend to want more, more, and more, to dream big, even to the point of dreaming the impossible dream or reaching for the unreachable star. We just couldn't stay put and be contented with whatever we have. Just because our neighbor has this and that, we also would want to have this and that. We tend to compare our life and status with those around us. We want life to be in accucolor, not just in black and white. And along the way, life becomes complicated.

Life is a cycle. We were the children of yesteryear and the parents or senior citizens of today. It's a purpose-driven life in this “hello-and-goodbye” world. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by accident. You are you. I am I. We all have a role to play. We cannot be Jack-of-all-trades.

So let us not compare ourselves with others because by doing so, we will only become vain and bitter. For always, there will be greater and lesser persons than us in this world. Life is not a contest. Let us try to be contented with what we have, and be happy with what we are. Simplify life. Live simply.