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Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Jungle elephant
By Rene Lizada
"To know exactly where you're headed may be the best way to go astray.
Not all those who loiter are lost."
- Father Mello
I love that line. It may sound so simple but there is a wise and profound truth to it.
A lot of us are victims of the shoulds and the musts in life. A lot of us are caught up with the idea that in order to succeed there must be a path to be undertaken, rules that must be followed, things that need to be done. Perhaps to a certain degree that is true but for the most part of life we get trapped in the rules of happiness and success that we become unhappy and unsuccessful. Think about it for a moment. You may have everything but you can still be miserable. It is a common truth that money, fame or power cannot buy happiness and yet it is unbelievably tragic how many people follow that path.
Ever since we were children we have been told that success is tantamount, that we have to be the best in what we do. Here is a thought for everyone. We already are. We are already perfect there is nothing to change. We only need to learn.
Alvin Toffler, an author once said that the illiterate of this century are not the ones who cannot read but the ones who cannot learn, relearn and unlearn. And there are a lot of things that we must learn, unlearn and perhaps relearn. A philosophy teacher of mine once said, in this class we will learn what you already know. There is nothing new. That is true.
How many of us are caught in the traps of our makings. How many of us are following blindly the habits of accumulated years? How many of us are in situations we do not want but which we cannot get out of? How many of us do things we hate for the sake of following rules and what the world perceives to be success and happiness. We search for the happiness outside but the happiness lies within. We all know about that but we do not know it for if we would happy.
When was the last time you did something you really liked? When was the last time you were a child again? Think about that for a moment. Why can't we do them? Because it is dumb? Silly? Stupid? But think about this too, nothing is sillier, dumber or more stupid than doing things that you hate.
Nothing is dumber in following the voices of the world rather in heeding the call of your soul. We are so caught up with the black and white of life that we no longer see the colors. The whole idea of life is not to do what we should the whole meaning of life is to obey the soft voices of one's heart.
Life is too short for the madness of the insatiable pursuit of what cannot be attained or achieved. Perhaps it is time to ask what we really want in life before it is too late. Before it is too late let us ask ourselves is this what we truly want our lives to be. It may surprise us that what we do may not be the purpose of our lives.
Ask yourself, is working like a mad dog the purpose of your life? Is being a battered spouse the purpose of your existence? Is being desperate, it? Is the inflexible chase of power, fame and wealth the whole point of living? Is sitting in chat rooms the meaning of life? Is cursing others, belittling them the reason why you live? Ask yourself the question why you do what you do.
What are you really looking for? Perhaps as the line goes, there is nothing to look for. You have found it already. A great Easter writer once said do not look for the elephant in the jungle for the elephant is already in your house.
And yes it is true that not all those who loiter are lost. Perhaps they are the ones who are not lost because in their loitering they have found their way. Perhaps those seem lost have found the secret of life.
If you look at it closely, the world hates people who do nothing. "Katamad mo. Wala kang ginagawa.. Wala kang silbe." All these point to the blindness that we must do something, anything. We must all be busy, we must act, act and act. One should never stop moving and doing and earning and pursuing. What happens is we work for life and not life work for us. We stay on the edge always because that is where we find fulfillment. No wonder we die young. We die of heart attacks, cancer even stress. But we do not care as long as we get the car, the house and the admiration. Is this the way we want our lives to run?
Climb that tree. Go the beach and leave work for a day. Tell that someone special you love him or her. Buy that dress. Make friends to that person you really want to meet. Write that book, share that song. Read poetry. Better still, write poetry.
Do the thing that celebrates your soul. Sing. Cry. Break free. Leave and never look back. Do the thing you have always wanted as long as it is right for you and for everyone. Celebrate your soul and touch your heart. Get lost and who knows you might just find yourself. Go.
(June 9, 2004 issue)
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