Penny for My Thoughts

In life, we don't always get what we want. But we do get what we need. That has been a line that's been passed down from several generations ago and I've tried researching who the originator of that line is, but all to no avail (as is the case for most "words to live by" we encounter daily). But regardless of who that was, it's interesting how selfless he got. How much of the world and that of beyond he sees that he is able to grasp the concept of just getting what you need and then being contented with it.

As humans, we aspire to have a lot of things. We want. Always want. Sometimes, greedily. Getting it and then wanting even more, always not having enough. I'm not sure if you can call that human nature, but if you want to, then so be it.
I will declare, here and now, that I am one of those people. The kind who wants, gets it (eventually), and then wants even more. A typical by-product of society and all its superficiality. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, to want something. But there are limits. And we should know them. That's being part of being responsible.

I've read a speech made by a doctor who recently passed away due to terminal stage cancer and everything he said in that speech made me think, really think, about how I'm going about with my life and where I expect to see myself to be 10 or 20 years from now. Here are some of the things he said...

"See the irony is that all these things that I have, the success, the trophies, my cars, my house and all. I thought that brought me happiness. But i was feeling really down, having severe depression. Having all these thoughts of my possessions, they brought me no joy. The thought of... You know, I can hug my Ferrari to sleep, no... No, it is not going to happen. It brought not a single comfort during my last ten months. And I thought they were, but they were not true happiness. But it wasn't. What really brought me joy in the last ten months was interaction with people, my loved ones, friends, people who genuinely care about me, they laugh and cry with me, and they are able to identify the pain and suffering I was going through. That brought joy to me, happiness. None of the things I have, all the possessions, and I thought those were supposed to bring me happiness. But it didn't, because if it did, I would have felt happy think about it, when I was feeling most down.."

 "...when I start to accumulate, the more I have, the more I want. The more I wanted, the more obsessed I became."

"A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves."

" I'll just end of with this quote here, it's from this book called Tuesdays with Morris, and some of you may have read it. Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself off all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live. I know it sounds very morbid for this morning but it's the truth, this is what I’m going through."

"Also most importantly, I think true joy comes from knowing God. Not knowing about God – I mean, you can read the bible and know about God – but knowing God personally; getting a relationship with God. I think that’s the most important. That’s what I’ve learnt." 

Those words really hit a spot. Just because I see myself going in the wrong direction, going in the direction of the misled. I aspire for things and generally, that's not a bad thing. It's a good thing to want to be successful, you just have to learn how to control your success and not let it control you.

I've often talked to my Mum and she often told me how material things are not the most important things in the world. And I pretend to listen, but I don't really hear. Now reading these words from a person who has had a first-hand experience with all that success and still felt nil about it, it's only now that I got to understand what my Mum said and what she hopes I would realize.

Hopefully, this new realization takes me to a different path, away from the path to destruction and unhappiness. Truly, mothers know best. =)

xoxo

-hny-