After reading THE LITTLE PRINCE...
Life is beautiful. It is full of surprises. It is a gift we are all blessed for.
For people who do not know what life is all about, life equals misery. Breathing becomes agony. So is mere talking and even touching a fellow’s hand. Sadly, life seems to be only a compulsory to be accepted and made use of. It’s as if men are only doing the Creator a favor – to live for a while and give Him a chance to enjoy their temporary presence in this planet. It may not run this way in the minds of those who do not know what life means, but somehow, it’s quite the same. Living and not knowing what to do, living and not knowing where to go, living an not knowing what one’s purpose is all about... Now, how does that make one feel?
“Men set out their way on express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for. Then they rush about and get excited, and turn round and round.” These lines were said by the little prince as he was talking to the Pilot upon their arrival at that one special well on the Sahara Desert. For a long while, they searched for water and the time came when what they were looking for appeared in front of them. And they stopped to acknowledge it. The little prince, who always talks in child-like riddles, must have meant that people must know what they truly need or what they want, for if not, how will they be able to begin their quest for finding the things they love to achieve or take hold of?
It also tells us, that deep within everyone else there’s that certain longing for worth. People try to look for it because they’re told it is the essence of life. Too overwhelmed by life’s prerequisite for satisfaction, however, the search becomes dull and painful; and unconsciously the search will lead one only to nowhere. There will be no specific destination because the tracks where footsteps had been marked will only remain as tracks to the unknown destination, when in fact, one could have stopped in any of those places and be happy right there and then. Living and not knowing what to look for is like strolling on a labyrinth. There may be quite a number of passages and opened gates, but the pathways will only be repititions of what has happened earlier or so. Life becomes a routine, and it should not be that way.
Life is beautiful. It is full of surprises. It is a gift we are all blessed for. That’s what I mentioned above. But I can’t convince myself easily. Perhaps because I still don’t know what I want to do after I graduate. I’m too overwhelmed by the thought of living independently and having a career of my own. That scares me. Or it could be that I already know what I want and I’m certain about my ambition but I pretend not to know because of fear, because my happiness is at stake. So I walk not going to the right direction and keep coming back to the places where I know I’m safe, to places where I’m already familiar with. But all the same, I will not get to the place where I want to go.
I picked the line from the story because of selfish reasons. And that is to save myself from getting lost in my quest for worth purpose and happiness. “Men set out their way on express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for. Then they rush about and get excited, and turn round and round.”
Somewhere, sometime in this quest...I hope to see the little prince. I know he’s just there somewhere.
Forever is too long to be a vagabond.
