I was browsing through my old blog articles and I saw one of the most viewed from that in 2011. I reread it and saw a number of grammatical glitches yet still got a number of readers. Then it dawned on me – that’s how life works – magnificence manifest amidst mistakes.
With this thought, I rewrote the article and decided to share it with you today…
It was Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 2:50 PM and I just finished watching the movie “The Last Song” based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.
The story of Ronnie, the main character, reminded me of some facts of life.
First, life on earth is temporary; life is so short – make the most out of it.
The scene stirred my soul as I watched the Ronnie’s father bid goodbye to earthly life. As for me, I lost my father in November 2010. Events like this remind us that things in this world are temporary. What does this mean to us? What does this call us to do? Are we going to simply breeze through the days of life?
I believe that we are called to make the most out of life. We are called to focus on what is essential. We are called to pursue significance. I like how Lloyd Reeb puts it in his book From Success to Significance. He said, “Success is great. But significance is lasting.” As we walk toward success, let us also take steps toward significance, toward the real meaning of life.
The movie, in this particular thought, had focused on family connections as it portrayed struggles in a daughter-father relationship. If there’s one form we can pursue to be significant is shown in this scenario. After all, life – they say – is about nurturing relationships.
Second, we commit mistakes but we need to forgive ourselves; we need to play our music again.
Ronnie comes to her mother crying with all the hurt inside of her. The heartfelt scene filled with tears and choking words goes, as the mother explained, “We’re not perfect… We make mistakes. We screwed up. But then we forgive and we move forward.”
With the human in us, we are vulnerable to committing mistakes. But we should not keep blaming ourselves for mistakes committed in the past. We have to move on. We must forgive ourselves and continue to live life the way it should be. We learn from the mistake and move forward. We have to play our music once again.
We can play our music once again through our gifts and talents, our abilities and skills. Whichever form of music you are capable of, you are meant to play it.
The problem with wallowing in previous mistakes is that it limits us from playing our music. To feel bad for mistakes in the past is normal but to stay down into the pit of shame and self-pity would not be healthy anymore. You would be robbing yourself and the world of the music you can share. Rise up from whatever pit you have fallen and recognize your talents. Talents are gifts that are to be developed and to be shared to the world around us. These are instruments toward the furtherance of the pleasures of life.
As the movie ended with a beautiful soundtrack, I was reminded that:
Third, we need someone to guide us, someone to lead us; we need someone to inspire us, someone to show us the beauty of life.
The song says it, “Everybody needs inspiration… cause there’s no guarantee that this life is easy.”
Life can be rough at times. It can get tough! But the Divine Father is here for us, and a lot of good people are here with us. The Good Lord shall bring forth wonderful people to guide us, to lead us, to inspire us, and to show us the beauty of life. He has been doing it many times in many ways in many forms.
There are events, experiences and encounters that serve as reminders for us to keep holding on. And all along, there is this Someone who keeps on singing our song. It is just right that we also do our part in singing our songs.
With these, we are reminded that life’s goodness shall live on beyond the singing of our last songs.
(Chris Dao-anis is an author of two books to date. Grab one today. Visit www.chrispoweracademy.com for details.)
