What is life?

By Julia Fernandes

August 16, 2011

"While we struggle to make sense of things, life looks on in repose." Author unknown

One of the greatest mysteries of this world is the mystery of life. We can never truly know why we are born into this world. You can spend your whole life on this earth and you may still not know why you came into this world. Of course, the world teaches us to align the purpose of our birth with what you have achieved in life.

So, if you are a doctor you reckon that your purpose is to heal and cure people. If you are teacher you understand that your purpose is to teach and guide young minds. But that is just a compensating thought! Why are some called to be doctors and some teachers -- that mystery nobody knows? Each person has a different calling. How and why God chooses people for some roles nobody really knows?

Some people do not even have a specific calling in life. Their calling is not to achieve anything. Yet, life is given to them, too. Isn’t that wonderful yet paradoxical? All that they have to do is to simply live. Yet, they add value and bring meaning to someone else’s life in ways beyond our human comprehension.

Come to think of it, nobody really asks us if we wish to be born, and nobody really asks us if we wish to die. Life is not a choice give to us. We just get it. But how we live our life and what we do with it is entirely upto us. Maybe, being born is not a choice given to us but what we make of our life is definitely within our ambit.

I feel glad when I experience a moment of truth; I feel elated when I experience rare and tender moments of love; I feel joyous when I experience the finest moments of kindness and goodness. I don’t quite know what is my purpose in life? But a smile escapes my face when I know something that I have done or said has helped another soul even if it is in the smallest possible way. Maybe, what I have done or said will be forgotten the next day or the next hour but it still makes me happy when I think that atleast for one particular moment in time I touched someone’s soul.

Beyond this I don’t even attempt to find out the meaning or purpose of my life. Why should I break my head on things I am really not supposed to know? I am happy that God gave me life as Julia; I am happy with the way God has made me. Life with all its irritants, troubles and uncertainties is still beautiful.

I must confess life continues to remain a big puzzle to me. I know I cannot unravel this mystery called life, but I will squeeze out all the happiness and extract all the joy that I can from the life that has been given to me. I will enjoy not finding the answer to the biggest question on everyone’s mind called -- what is life?