about longevity & disaster … (01/30/12)
I think Lao Tsu nailed it when he said that “The flame that burns twice as bright, burns half as long” — or George Bernard Shaw, when he wrote that life is “a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
We are almost certainly not here to live as long as possible, but rather to live as Meaning-fully as possible … If that means living a life of great Meaning that is long, so be it. But longevity in and of itself means very little.
If we so choose, every “disaster” can become a Gift. The Chinese character for “crisis” is said to be composed of the symbols for both “danger” and “critical moment of change”. While this interpretation is subject to debate, it does reflect a deep Truth: that our times of “disaster” are the very times when we are offered the opportunity to transform ourSelves most powerfully — that these are the times when our Love can be most powerfully given, and as such are the times when we can effectuate the most Good, both for others as well as for our surroundings in general.
While I certainly do not yearn for my next personal “disaster”, I know it is on its way. More importantly, I also know that I am no longer required to suffer from life’s inevitable waves of pain and discord; that I will instead be able to use these moments of difficulty as tools of emPowerment when they do arrive.
And this is what makes my own life worth Living —
This is what gives my own life Meaning —
This is what makes my own longevity essentially irrelevant.
As long as I continue to meet my obstacles and difficulties with courage — by extending Kindness to others in those times when I most want to “take care of myself” — then my life will continue to overflow with wave after wave of Joy-filled Peace.
And here rests the greatest of ironies: the less I worry about myself, the more my True Self basks in the glories that the selfless life offers to those who truly Care.
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