In The End, JUST THREE THINGS MATTER, Period

 

$$$$$$.  Properties.  Holidays.  Ealt-all-you-can.  Verily true, generally, many things matter to us.  Imagine days WHERE you spent the whole 8 hours working, then driving through traffic gridlock for another 2 hours and WHEN you arrive home, you're still deep into discussions for THIS and THAT.  And by the time you hit the sack, you're drained as that dried up oil funnel [after your car's change oil].  BUT lo and behold,  to quote American author Jack Kornfield, In the end, JUST 3 THINGS MATTER.   And they are:

• HOW WELL WE HAVE LIVED
• HOW WELL WE HAVE LOVED
• HOW WELL WE HAVE LEARNED TO LET GO

Contrary to what's spread wrongly, those three lines have been often [wrongly] quoted as one coming from Buddha.  We have to credit that to Jack Kornfield although I believe there's a mix-up because Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India.  Back to our thread, unfortunately, like it OR not, we are going to see loved ones eventually die and come face to face with the stark reality that we too will have that path in the future💚💛💜

Early in life, everyone of us would have witnessed the untimely departure of our elders, the older generations.  BUT eventually, that grief has to go 'somewhere' and that manifested more in the way of an intense questioning and seeking, looking for comfort and the idea that there is something bigger than me directing the 'orchestra' of my life.  In my never-ending quest out of curiosity, I explored all the crevices and corners of anything that can explain all these mysteries.  BUT honestly, I WASN'T sure WHAT I was seeking for💧💧💧

Let's face it, when a close relative is going through the end of life's stages, we will realize that sometimes, that guilt feeling will seem to creep in for those times you thought you should have spent more time with your departed parents BUT DIDN'T.  And that will and should spark a new awareness in us, leading us to develop that deep concern and compassion for anyone going through those late stages of their life as well.  BUT WHAT struck me like a 'bolt of lightning' was HOW important it was to enjoy [as in ENJOY] each precious day of our life AS MUCH AS WE COULD so that we WON'T have those future regrets😌😌😌

Our takeaway:  I feel it sometimes takes tremendous efforts to live each moment well.  BUT HOW easy is it to live WELL, love WELL and learn to LET GO WHEN we are caught up with the dramas of life.  HOW easy is it to recognize that anything we are tightly holding onto, a regret, an anger OR non-forgiveness, is like a 'poison', gradually gnawing away at our mind and being and damaging [WHO knows] even our health?  I heard this before.  Can we PRACTICE COMPASSION to help us navigate life a little easier, so we are able to truly live each precious moment of our lives as best as we can.  To quote Jack Kornfield:  IN THE END, JUST THREE THINGS MATTER.  Pick it up from here, dude❗❗❗