Law of Life “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever” (Gandhi).
Although this one sentence may not have a very big impact in your mind, it does for me. No, it is not because it was said by Gandhi, but because it has a certain meaning to it that cannot be expressed in words. It is that one meaning that we all strive to find in our own separate laws of life. Many do actually find their interpretation, however what one approves as one’s interpretation of a quote a cheesy way to do so for another. However, for this quote, there is only one proper meaning.
Let’s take it phrase by phrase. The first phrase says, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow…” (Gandhi).
When we look at this phrase in retrospectively we can take out many views from it. The first and foremost is a common word people all over the nation use every day, YOLO. That’s right, You Only Live Once, aka YOLO. Even with this simple phrase people mistake the true meaning behind it. YOLO does not mean to go around doing whatever you like whenever you want; it means that you should do productive activities that benefit the welfare of society and bring a worldwide issue to an end.
When I say this I do not mean that one should solve world hunger one day and find the cure for cancer the next day. Although that would be awesome and you would be the most respected person alive; we know that is very unrealistic. Rather, on should take realistic steps that help in the international effort to solve these problems. A couple of years back, I was in India at my uncle’s house. Every day at around dinnertime, a poverty stricken boy would walk from house to house looking for food.
The Essay on Meaning of Life and Australian Cultural Identity
“From separate catastrophes, two rural families flee to the city and find themselves sharing a great, breathing, shuddering joint called Cloudstreet, where they begin their lives again from scratch. For twenty years they roister and rankle, laugh and curse until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. ” (Winton, 1991) Tim Winton’s critically acclaimed novel, Cloudstreet is a ...
He was given food but he kept me thinking on how his misery could come to an end and have a chance of actually getting somewhere in his lifetime. Someday we will find out and change the world. “…learn as if you were to live forever” (Gandhi).
The first thing that popped into my mind is a famous Latin proverb; “Usus est magister optimus” (Unknown).
This translates to, “Experience is the best teacher”. The phrase is pretty self-explanatory. Whatever we do, there is always a way to go through that one activity more efficiently and have it result in a better outcome.
This makes us realize that the next time we do the same activity we should improve the way we prepare and/or perform it and get it as close to perfect as we can. I was reminded of my black belt testing for taekwondo as I wrote this. Two summers ago, I tested for my first black belt. One of the things we had to do is break two boards with two different techniques. One of the boards broke easily and the touch of my arm. The other was a bit trickier. I kicked the board and tried to break it two times and missed. This left me baffled because I had broken them easily when I was practicing.
I was called to the judges table and the judges talked to me and told me how I could fix my technique. I listened and followed what they said and I finally broke the board. I eventually did find out what I was doing wrong and made sure to think of doing the opposite when I used that kick for I did not want to go back to the old days. Ever since that day I have never missed a board with that kick. This shows that even after practicing for a thousand times, there is still something to learn in everything you do. (636 words)
