Life is about unconditional love. We are all talking about love, but we do not understand the actual value of love. Connecting with your family, with your parents, siblings, children, and to your significant others is the best way to find the meaning of life. Loving the members of your family is easier to say than do because most people have tedious and complicated family relationships. Loving your family is a critical step to grow in your wisdom, appreciation, forgiveness, and compassion of what life has to offer. You can only find true happiness after making your close ones happy and learning to love them unconditionally. Not only your own family and loved ones, but also your neighbors, peers, clients, communities, strangers, environment, countries, cultures, and the planet earth. Unconditional love includes being grateful for everything in life, being in service to others as much as you can, forgiving others, accepting differences, showing compassion to others, and holding great hope in life under all circumstances.
Life is about overcoming insecurities. Insecurity is part of life for most people. Insecure feelings cause us to worry about ourselves and others. We often worry about family, relationships, jobs, money, bills, debts, mortgages, retirement, children, health, wellness, and other social and personal issues. Overcoming the fear of insecurity in life starts from recognizing the problems and working on your anxieties, not escaping or hiding from those challenges. The best way to take a firm stand on insecurities is to think mindfully, act consciously, behave positively, and be aware of reality wisely. The more you connect with your insecurities, the more you will become courageous to face your inner shadows. Life is about challenging your selfish behavior and enable yourself to achieve things that would have been impossible before.
Life is about continuous learning for its entirety. Maturity comes with wisdom, experience, and lessons learned from mistakes. Never stopping your learning is a driving force for a fulfilled life. There is one thing for sure; that we do not know everything in life, even those with higher education, fame and power, and a lot of wealth. Nobody is better than any other in this universe. Everybody is here on earth to learn and evolve. The only difference among people is the life path or the destination of a life journey. Everyone has the same right to live a life from birth regardless of whether they are rich or poor; but eventually, people have different life experiences. Indeed, nobody in this world can stop you from learning new things; you only stop learning when you give up on your own.
Don: This topic has triggered my interest in thinking about the meaning of life. For me, life is to experience as many different cultures as I can. I used to think the people of the world should only speak English, and I got mad when people used their own languages to chat with me during my global travels. The more I see the world, the more I want to learn from other people in different countries about their customs, traditions, lifestyles, delicious food, clothes, and languages. My perspective about the world has shifted from self-centered ME ONLY to open-minded YOU and THEY all the time. Understanding life is about having my heart and soul open up in ways that I have never tried or experienced before. Yes, life is short; we should not waste it by watching someone else's life. It is time to live my own unique life.
Wei: I agree with you, Susan, that there are failures, wins, ups, and downs in life. For me, life is all about peeling the layers of an onion, from unpredictability and uncertainties to knowing, accepting, and doing. Nobody knows how the next day might be, the next hour, the following minutes, or the next second. Enjoy every moment as it happens. I have wasted my precious life for the past nine years because I thought I was still young. I tried all the bad things my parents told me not; it was my right to do anything I wanted. I was put in jail for five years for violent behavior and was diagnosed with AIDS a few years ago. I thought rebellion was my power and weapon to fight the authorities and even my parents. Now, I have just begun living an authentic life; a mindful and conscious life with meanings, gratitude, an open heart, and loving others. I do not know how long I can live with my AIDS condition, but I have no regret now because I finally understand my life's purpose. I cherish everything that happened to me and the things happening now, including my wild and shameful life experience in the past.
Alisa: Thanks for the opportunity of sharing my thoughts. My life is about a journey to meet many people. Some of them might become friends, companions, partners, and neighbors. I share my life with others, and I also learn lessons from different people. Life for me has multiple colors and layers, including sound and awful memories, wins or losses, regrets or resentments, promises or compromises, tolerance or out-of-control, good luck or bad fortune, and appreciation or hate. Life is about trying to dream with eyes open occasionally. Life is about caring for others with my heart and soul. Life is about loving with arms wide open without holding back. Life is about smiling all the time. Life is about laughing sometimes without reason. Life is about taking chances without worrying about failure. Life is about never giving up hope. Life is about forgiving and letting go. Life is about living every moment with joy and contentment. Life is about living, not just existing.
So, please live your life, be present, and take chances.
To be continued.