Why are we here?
This morning, I was reading the daily news from "The Chronicle of Higher Education". I receive the news everyday at work and usually would browse over the headlines and read the details of the more catching ones.
Today I was reading about an investigative panel that was analyzing Virginia Tech's response to all the signs that led up to the mass shooting on April 16,.....but that's not the part I want to talk about. A related link from that page took me to a page that had all the profiles of the 32 victims of the shootings. I opened and browsed every one of them. I must say that, although I had listened to snatches of stories on the news about some of these victims, this was the first time I was actually reading each story in such detail. [http://chronicle.com/indepth/vatech/]
I was struck by what a big loss we, as a generation, not just Virginia Tech or the families of these victims, had suffered. These people were all bright individuals, intelligent, career-oriented, warm, driven, compassionate. Some of them had big dreams, big plans...you name it. And I thought, in a twinkling of an eye, all this was taken away.
First, it brought such a big wave of fresh sorrow that I had to pause and say a prayer for the souls of these dear people. And then I got to thinking quite a bit. I thought to myself how I often take my life for granted. How I live each day...go to work, return, and maybe exercise, read a few lines, talk on the phone, watch some TV and then go to bed. I don't really have a plan to follow. Do I really know what I want to accomplish? Am I gearing my actions towards accomplishing some goal? Am I using my time in the most rewarding manner? Or am I just going through the motions and living one day at a time?
Seriously, I want that good things should be remembered about me whenever I leave this earthly life. I want to have made a mark, a positive one, made someone's life better, and not just live my life. That cannot be why I am here on earth, just to live my life!!! As a Baha'i, I am taught different. [www.bahai.org]. We are here to help establish the kingdom of God on earth. To make this world like heaven...fill it with love and laughter and good deeds. The Baha'i teachings also say that we must develop spiritual qualities in this life in order to prepare our souls for progress in the next world when we pass from this world, much like a baby develops physical and mental faculties while in the world of the womb in preparation for this world.
I believe that I want to start this by having a few principles to go by. Everyday...I want to be and sound happy, so that that countenance will make someone else's life better. A smile is a free gift; it costs nothing. Then I want to be more positive about life's challenges, and not take them slumping. And the other one is, I need to be more proactive and not just react to what comes along. On this last part, I have to set a few guidelines..... Let me go think about it.
Today I was reading about an investigative panel that was analyzing Virginia Tech's response to all the signs that led up to the mass shooting on April 16,.....but that's not the part I want to talk about. A related link from that page took me to a page that had all the profiles of the 32 victims of the shootings. I opened and browsed every one of them. I must say that, although I had listened to snatches of stories on the news about some of these victims, this was the first time I was actually reading each story in such detail. [http://chronicle.com/indepth/vatech/]
I was struck by what a big loss we, as a generation, not just Virginia Tech or the families of these victims, had suffered. These people were all bright individuals, intelligent, career-oriented, warm, driven, compassionate. Some of them had big dreams, big plans...you name it. And I thought, in a twinkling of an eye, all this was taken away.
First, it brought such a big wave of fresh sorrow that I had to pause and say a prayer for the souls of these dear people. And then I got to thinking quite a bit. I thought to myself how I often take my life for granted. How I live each day...go to work, return, and maybe exercise, read a few lines, talk on the phone, watch some TV and then go to bed. I don't really have a plan to follow. Do I really know what I want to accomplish? Am I gearing my actions towards accomplishing some goal? Am I using my time in the most rewarding manner? Or am I just going through the motions and living one day at a time?
Seriously, I want that good things should be remembered about me whenever I leave this earthly life. I want to have made a mark, a positive one, made someone's life better, and not just live my life. That cannot be why I am here on earth, just to live my life!!! As a Baha'i, I am taught different. [www.bahai.org]. We are here to help establish the kingdom of God on earth. To make this world like heaven...fill it with love and laughter and good deeds. The Baha'i teachings also say that we must develop spiritual qualities in this life in order to prepare our souls for progress in the next world when we pass from this world, much like a baby develops physical and mental faculties while in the world of the womb in preparation for this world.
I believe that I want to start this by having a few principles to go by. Everyday...I want to be and sound happy, so that that countenance will make someone else's life better. A smile is a free gift; it costs nothing. Then I want to be more positive about life's challenges, and not take them slumping. And the other one is, I need to be more proactive and not just react to what comes along. On this last part, I have to set a few guidelines..... Let me go think about it.
Labels: Reflections
posted by Ambe @ 7:24 AM
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