Paradox

There is a paradox involved in the basic quality of human existence. Our hands touch solid objects, our eyes see shapes and colours, our everyday horizons are narrow; yet there are times when the soul seems to stand on hilltops and to glimpse immense vistas of meaning.

When I was recently on a trip, I felt this immense feeling. This feeling is not confined to saints or poets or philosophers - we all have it at certain moments of happiness and relaxation; if we are fortunate enough.

It seems somehow realer than the trivialities of everyday existence. And this is the paradox.

Personal Missions

Sometimes our most thought provoking moments occur when we find time to record what we feel is the essence of our existence in a succinct statement.

Such statements can become our personal constitution - which is the framework for making our life-directing decisions.

I found my personal mission in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:
'To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded'.