What is the meaning of life? This is a question many are struggling with but the answer remains a mystery. Spiritual teacher Anthony de Mello once said, as soon as you look at the world through an ideology, you are finished. No reality fits an ideology. Life is beyond that and this is why people are always searching for a meaning to life. He believes that meaning is only found when you go beyond meaning. Life only makes sense when you perceive it as mystery and it makes no sense to the conceptualizing mind. Philosophers have always ascertained that life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived. But in a world where confusion surpasses all understanding how does one find meaning to life? Counselor Jessica Kayitesi says that although one can never point out the ultimate purpose for living, there is certainly a purpose to life. Life only makes sense when you perceive it as mystery, according to spiritual teacher, Anthony de Mello. Net photos “There are many aspects in which life can be viewed which can help one find that one purpose they are looking for,” she says. The counselor notes that defining what life is entirely depends on an individual, “What does your heart beat for? Do you want to lend a helping hand? Do you dream of starting an organization to feed the hungry? It is by countering the desires of your heart that you find your reason for living.” “We live in the unknown, finding a purpose requires someone to have something they believe in, this will provide a sense of direction,” Kayitesi adds. For Pastor Charles Manzi, life on earth should be viewed in perspective and that people should also think about the afterlife. It is in this regard that he reminds people, especially believers that their purpose in life should be to glorify God above all else because in the end it is all that matters. “Seeking a fulfilling life in earthly things such as riches and power creates a devoid that can never be filled. These things don’t last and they create a cycle of emptiness,” he warns. He therefore advises people to seek fulfillment in more important matters such as having good relations with others, loving people and being there for them. “Yes it is good to have ambitions, set targets and register achievements but this shouldn’t be our ultimate purpose. It is only by seeking fellowship with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, that one can find the definitive purpose to living.” Some believe that fulfillment can be found in more important matters such as having good relations with others, loving people and being there for them. Net photos Life is not a race, it is a lesson Radio presenter, Sandrine Isheja, says that the biggest lesson she has learnt from life is that all people have seasons: seasons of happiness and seasons of sadness, seasons of foolishness and seasons of wisdom, seasons of worrying and seasons of serenity. With this, she has also learnt to never envy anyone based on the season they are in and never take the blessings of a particular season for granted. Isheja believes life is more of a mission that mankind needs to embark on with determination. “I believe we are here for a reason. God created me for a purpose. When you find your passion or talent you find your mission. Nice Budandi an event organizer, at Smart Africa Secretariat, believes that life doesn’t have a specific description that is general to everyone because even to the individual, it varies with the chances and the environment that a person is associated with. “To me life has to do more with someone’s lifestyle, the standard they are living in, the routine activities a person goes through, the people he’s associated with, the hobbies, the ups and downs you meet while alive and the way you go through them and of course the chances presented to you which you don’t actually determine,” he says. Budandi says life has made him learn to take care of himself knowing that he doesn’t know how much time he has left on earth. “I try to maximize and know that there will always be chances, so I prepare for them and take advantage of meeting different people who are living a different life from mine; this helps me realize how diverse life is. From this I learnt that life is much more than I can actually explain but I can only keep exploring,” he says. He hence calls life a blessing that man must cherish and a lesson he can learn from. Ntare Rwabugiri, an IT expert, quotes the late Steve Jobs saying that ‘You must live your life as if you’re dying tomorrow.’ “If life will be repeated in another universe after we die, there are some circumstances I wouldn’t wish to ever happen again from this journey of mine,” he says, “there are things I will never do again. I see life as precious, and if there is something you want to change in your life, it is today.” Renowned Kenyan blogger Jackson Biko wrote in his post about life that just like with a race, people shouldn’t run fast but rather maintain a steady pace. Life only makes sense when you perceive it as mystery, according to spiritual teacher, Anthony de Mello. Net photo He wrote that he realized soon enough that one doesn’t have to catch up with anyone noting that he has drawn tremendous life lessons from running. Running – like life – teaches you to go at your own pace because you don’t know what other people are going through. “Also, don’t listen to any voice apart from your own voice, the mind is a very powerful tool, it can be poisonous as it can be a weapon for success. The trick to running, like life, is to trudge along, one step at a time. Don’t think of it in terms of kilometers, but in little milestones; that corner coming ahead, that little uphill stretch ahead, that big tree ahead. There is great joy in fulfilling the small targets,” Biko wrote. He went on to clarify that just as it is in running, it’s okay to stop and walk in life because it allows you to gather yourself, to recover, because sometimes you burn out in life, lose a job, get divorced, lose a special someone, and it slows you down, but then you don’t give up, you start running again. And you finish. Chrtistians believe that their purpose in life should be to glorify God above all else. Net photo “Everybody who is determined to finish will finish a run. There are those who finish earlier than others. There are those who finish last. But when we are all lying on the grass, smiling, glowing with triumph, stretching our stiff limbs and someone walks up to the group, do you think they would know who finished first or last? That’s exactly how life is. It doesn’t matter who finished first or who finished last. They are all winners.” editorial@newtimes.co.rw
