Lifesong

Life has been engineered to consistently hurl surprises across our path and bring the most unexpected to being. If anything at all, life is all but predictable. Positive, negative, infinite. A vast ocean of possibilities lay at our feet depending on our choice of destination. We have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year to put ourselves in the correct shoes and set off on a journey of faith that so many claim to have walked, failed and have quickly thrown in the towel, whereas few have actually embraced that part of the story that encompasses the beauty of victory that comes through perseverance and prominence. That being said, perseverance cannot be cultivated nor can prominence be impersonated. Perseverance blossoms through the undying will to succeed, kept burning by the flame of passion, the exact flame that has lit the hearts of scholars, philosophers and other professionals throughout the centuries. It is, however, not as glossy as it sounds. Pushing off to the side tracks for a bit, the simplest things in life can often push us to the limit. Smile if you will, low as it sounds, but don't you remember the class prankster whose favourite victim was your water bottle? Or how about the irritating motorist who cut off your lane and kept you sulking the entire day? If those scenarios tested our perseverance, how much more the circumstances in life; the pressures at play, at work or at school. To persevere, a positive attitude at ALL times is a must. More so if that is a 'resolution' one has vowed to keep this year. But that aside, humans are by nature impatient creatures. We've all come face to face with life's ironies. It is humourous, really, but few will actually be able to keep a cool head in these situations; often bursting into guffaws of laughter afterwards upon recalling actually how remarkably funny it was. One man, noting the regularity (and certainty) of these quirks, decided to make a list. The result? The famous "Murphy's Laws". Among some of Murphy's most interesting observations (and some that are really capable of taking the steam out of our heads): If anything CAN go wrong it WILL. "Broken" gadgets will operate perfectly in the presence of a repairman. Saying "Watch this!" guarantees that the behaviour you want others to witness will not happen. A poorly thrown Frisbee will always come to rest under the exact centre of a parked car. The other line always moves faster. You will always be forced to wait when you do not have the time to wait. We nod and smile at those laws because we've lived them and they're amazingly true to life. But these aren't the scenarios whereby the true story of life will be told. How about some other laws of life? Perhaps not as humorous, but just as true - and much more life changing. Consider the people around you. Start thinking of their welfare in your decisions. Giving is better than receiving. You will always reap what you sow. If you sow love, you will reap love. If you sow hatred, hatred is therefore what you will reap. Perhaps we need to be more outward looking instead of being so internally-oriented. Learn to do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Perhaps, just perhaps, if half of society actually followed these principles on top of the hidden good that is already embedded in the heart of humans and persevered in doing so, life would be better to live and the world would be a better place. Political struggles tell the story of selfish people struggling to attain prominence in the wrong manner. No exceptions to tales of drugs abuse, substance abuse, streetfights, even real-time wars. Prominence, as mentioned earlier, cannot be impersonated. Perhaps the struggles in my life has driven me to write this, as the new year has not yet brought the changes for which I have so eagerly hoped for. But if it is anything that keeps me going and helping me to persevere, it would probably be the thought of those less fortunate than I am, to whom life is a daily struggle for survival, and those who have to fight for so much as a sack of rice. Life could only better if I learned to maintain and sustain a positive attitude at all times. People change, circumstances change. Prominence shifts from time to time. Life is an ongoing tale of ups and downs. A walk in the park? Not at all. Acceptable? Maybe. Just a few days ago I discovered painfully that a close friend of mine was not all I had seen him as. My education, and my future at that, meanwhile, is still uncertain at this point. These are among others that threaten the validity of my stand in life and question the lines on which I stand. With all hopes, dreams and aspirations cast aside, all I can do is look to heaven and say "Life may not treat me the way I always want it to be, but Lord You hold my world in the palm of Your Hands."