MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING: HIS HEROIC JOURNEY

THE METAMORPHOSIS
By
ERNIE D. DELFIN



MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANNG: HIS HEROIC JOURNEY

Every person who has some knowledge of the Bible would know the bitter-sweet story of the prodigal son (Luke l5:11-32) Each human being, including this columnist, most likely will have his own “heroic journey” , like the prodigal son, who “left home” for whatever personal reasons that compelled him to do so, then lived in another place where he experienced many things, both good and bad, that eventually “changed” him as a person. Then for another set of reasons, he decided to “return home” and coming home a completely a “changed man!” In some journalistic parlance, each one of us, human beings, may also have experienced or undergone such a “heroic journey.” I think I have also undergone such “mid-life crises” (for a lack of a better word) phenomenon that I still do not fully understand but has accepted it as a part and parcel of life on earth.

This cycle of human life from infancy to adulthood (biblically, from conception to resurrection or from dust to dust) is as certain as the sunrise in the east and sunset in the west. Man’s journey is his alone to traverse, to enjoy or to suffer. His life’s journey can be bad or good, depending on how he does with it. It can be beautiful despite all the obstacles and thorns that may come his way, as long as he discovers his own “treasure” and finds the meaning of his life along the way to his final destination.

In his classic book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor wrote: “ The WILL TO MEANING is the basic striving of man to find and fulfill meaning and purpose in life. Man is reaching out for the world - a world, which is replete with other beings to encounter and meanings to fulfill…. The purpose is to give meaning to life...the individual...wants to create values...the human being has a primary or native orientation in the directions of creating and of values.”

A man therefore must take minute vacations to ponder and evaluate his own life, to always re-define what a “good life” means to him. Socrates once wrote: “An unexamined life is not worth living for.” When I was one and twenty, I never understood that short admonition from this great philosopher. Four decades later, now that I am a grandpa, I have a clearer understanding of Socrates’ advice, that has helped me chart what my “good life” should be.

Such evaluation or definition of a good life is quite personal and unique. Society’s definition is quite different from philosophers’ definition simply because society often measures a good life or success with a different yard stick that is normally associated with the pursuit of happiness by the acquisition of earthly power and fame. Many people of my generation have now passed the high noon mark in the clock of their earthly life. Some are now gazing at the sunset of their lives in the horizon. An honest reflection of one’s life evokes an inexplicable emotion that creates a mixed feeling of morbid thoughts and a feeling of an orgasmic release that could also bring some degree of tranquility and peace deep within.

I have read and now believe that there is a real “heaven on earth” when a person is at peace within himself and is aligned to that Almighty Power who created all things, Who found all of His Creations, including you and me, very good. There seems to be an invisible magnet available for all of us to follow that path towards Heaven or “Enlightenment” as some philosophers call it. Whatever and wherever that path to our (heroic) journey lies, you have to find it, and then own it. Each man must seek answers to his own questions as no one else can answer that for him.

My life’s values and priorities will not be identical to any one, like my finger prints are quite different even to my own brothers’ and sisters’ although we came from the same parents. So, are my spouse and my two adult children. Surrendering that I will never fully understand all these human drama unfolding before me, from the time of my birth to the last day of my life is empowering as it blows away the toxins of anxiety . It also serves as the oxygen tank that allows me to breathe fully and freely. It’s a life mystery that I’ve learned to accept.

This act of humility of accepting my own limitations, vulnerability and mortality has helped me re-define what is the true meaning and purpose of my own life. What is a “good life” (or heaven) for me?

What the heart yearns, what the soul aspires and what the mind’s predominant thoughts are, will serve as the true north compass that guides man’s direction. The Good Book says: “for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” . The focus of the mind, heart and spirit then becomes the shuttle of one’s desires and ultimately defines what his “good life” is. As it is inherently personalized, no one can fathom its own meaning but the man himself. The common thread, however, is that very decade or so, the answer changes with age and maturity. When we were young, to finish college was the most important goal. After college, to have a good job and excellent salary or have a good business to provide our material needs was paramount. Then, to start a family and live happily ever after. What a myth!

Once you have a family, another set of challenges arrives: the young kids’ health and welfare, then schooling, then coping up with the concomitant problems or challenges of teenage children. Then, their own expensive college years that parents normally support. And the cycle of life continues and is repeated in every generation.

When you are lucky to pass the mid-century mark or reach a fully ripe age of 80’s or longer, like many healthy seniors now, life can be good if you have gradually fine-tuned your life’s priorities and values in alignment to a higher calling beyond just existing, eating and watching TV, like sharing your life with the least of your brethren and rendering true service above self without counting the costs.

A retired friend of mine describes it beautifully: “When I was young, what I have accomplished and accumulated served as my trophy which defined me. Now, that I can no longer drive any of my cars, I have given them away which was a great relief by letting go. Sharing a part of what I have, my experience and time with others was quite liberating and makes my life worth living for. When I wake up in the morning and still can smell the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and still can read the morning paper, and walking in the garden and picking up some fruits and feeding the birds are simple joys that I used to take for granted. In my youth, working in he field was like working in prison, now working in my garden is like walking in paradise.”

AMEN to that, my dear friend! Indeed, our life is a mystery to be lived, and not a problem to be solved. Life’s purpose is to live, to learn, to love and to leave a legacy!

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The Metamorphosis’ Food for Thought this month:

“ A man is born, goes to school, finishes college, has a good job, marries, buys a house, have children, then, retires with good retirement income and eventually dies! Is this all there is to our life?”
An entry in my diary

“Your life is God’s gift to you, what you do with your life is your gift to God!”
Anonymous

“ Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you!”

Steve Jobs in his commencement speech
in 2005 at Stanford University


Email columnist at: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or
drbannatiran@yahoo.com