It is truly sad that there are so many embittered people in the world. And it is even sadder that so many of them are young.
Yet, I see too many of these people who think that a good life
should be handed to them on a silver platter, or fall out of the sky into their laps as they lie idle. They are passive participants in
life. They expect that life should happen to them.
Although that can occasionally be the outcome, passive people are usually
battered around by life’s waves, at the whim of the wind and the currents. They
allow themselves to be victims of life rather than champions of it. They are
takers rather than givers, pawns rather than players, dreamers rather than
doers, doubters rather than optimists.
Dreaming is good. It may even be necessary. But one has to go after those dreams, seize them and make them reality. A rich life is not embodied by wealth or celebrity. But wealth or celebrity need not impede it. A rich life is one that brings satisfaction to one’s sense of self. And there is no better way than to be kind to strangers, giving of one’s self selflessly and forgiving of those who may have intentionally or unintentionally placed obstacles in your way. Forgiveness is a great healer.
Everyone can make a positive contribution to our world. And no contribution is too small. Be grateful for what one has rather than regretful for what one perceives as lacking. Gratitude is life’s golden chalice. Bitterness and cynicism are life’s poison. They will stifle one, make one shrivel inside and leave one empty.
It has been said that “youth is wasted on the young”. That
quote is attributed to several people, including Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde.
The latter has also claimed “I am not young enough to know everything.” It is a
shame that youth denigrates age or that age underestimates youth’s potential.
There should be a symbiotic relationship of respect between the two, and then the
world might become a better place.
