Live Life to the Fullest

            Who among us can even dare to say that life is not meaningful? Even the elderly, the disabled, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the lowly, can declare that it is.

            Kanlungan ni Maria, Home for the Aged Foundation Inc. relatively depicts what life is. All of us will come and get old – a life’s fragment which is inevitable. But, when our years will gradually wither, can we say or even whisper to ourselves that we have lived a meaningful life, and that we have fought a good fight?

            Presumably at some point in our life, we are wondering why have we been given this life. What is it for? Why are we given the breath we breathe? Why are we given years to live? These questions may seem to be foolish and childish, nevertheless, they are very important and profound questions in our life that we continue to search through the times for a perfect answer. I assume, this is the reason why life seems to be mysterious and relatively unique to each other.

            As it is denotatively defined, a meaningful life is a broad term encompassing a varied number of definitions having to do with the pursuit of life satisfaction. Some may find it in pursuit of things, in pursuit of pleasure or in leaving a legacy – three of the most common approaches in search for the meaning of life. One thing is common and clear here; we all define and create our own meaning. We all choose what pursuit we will take. We all choose what way we want to walk through, what we want to become. We all choose how we will live our life, and eventually find the meaning of it.

            Looking upon the situations of the elderlies in the Home for the Aged Foundation makes me to be reminded that life is short and that you will never know when it will end. Life is a cycle - you die and decompose, as Daniel Kolak have said. Amidst the atmosphere in Kanlungan ni Maria, I learned there that life can be as easy as you think but can be likewise as hard when you expect that it will be, as quoted by Nanay Baby. I was inspired by each of their life stories. With empathy, I can really feel the hardships they have been through, yet still thankfulness is in their hearts. Though they feel that society isolates them yet can they still appreciate life. “All is well”, as most of them say. Looking in their eyes, mercy propagates in my heart but nay, cheer hovers still because I can see that in their little ways, they know how to turn the world upside down. They are positive, looking forward for greater existence and are all grateful for the life they had, they are having, and the extended years they will have.

Truly, life is meaningful. It was designed by God from the very moment He created us to be lived fully and well. We choose, in ourselves, how to find its meaning, how to find our life’s satisfaction. And in the search for a meaningful life, yes, we sometimes pass through the abstracts, the life’s ups and downs. There can we further understand what we are searching for. It is good to remember that life is rendered short and it is only once, so we must live it to the fullest. Live the best out of it. Live a meaningful life!