Liba Hopeson
BTC, Pfutsero
One day, a mother cooked a very simple, not concocted dish, which was not tempting to look, yet it was a delectable dish. Her son savored it nicely as it was very scrumptious and he was greatly pleased. He was delighted, so he expressed words of profuse thanks to his loving mom. By seeing the contentment that he had, his sister was enthused to cook for him the same dish another day. Not long after that day, giving her full interest, she prepared the dish for her beloved brother, but it was not as delicious as the dish her mother cooked earlier. They used the same recipes, same ingredients, and style of cooking, but the taste was different. How? Why? She wondered in bewilderment and asked herself, “Am I not good at all in cooking”? I am I not born to cook well? My mom and I used the same ingredients and style of cooking, and markedly, I gave my best, but why was the dish cooked by my mom more delicious? In life, it happens. She might wonder and question in astonishment, but it happens even in our homes. It’s a reality in human life. We are same in different ways. This simple story may not precisely suit the title of this article and it may not give you the clear picture of what I am trying to stress in this write-up, but I do believe that, it somehow open up and broaden your mind to think and grab the notion of the question that I put forward.
I often ponder and talk about life, whereby, time and again I come to realize that it is but a series of struggles and challenges. In fact, it is always a fierce battle. Whoever has become great and who strive to become somebody admit that life is not easy. Our life journey is indeed arduous, onerous, tricky and tiring. Undoubtedly, we have different talents, abilities and potentialities, yet many do better and greater things. Many physically challenged people do better than those who are fit and strong. So, I often ask the question, ‘what makes a person different’? We all worship God, but some are stronger in faith, why? All of us read Scripture and pray, but some have more God’s power and hence do greater things, why? Every student studies, but some do much better than others, why? Many preach and deliver speeches, but some are more influential, why? Questions go on and on. Indeed, there may be many reasons, but I discovered two main reasons which make a person different.
The first one is tackling our ‘desires’. Everyone who has flesh and blood has desires. Buddha fittingly intimated that “desire is the cause of all problems”. As I continue to contemplate and ponder about desire, I realize that, ample of human failures and defeats are due to ‘inability to overcome desires’. Literally, having a desire may not be sin or wrong, but yielding to it is. In my life, I fail in many areas for I let my desires overcome me. If we think critically, we realize that it is one of the most difficult things to do in life. Those who live victorious life overcome their desires. They, like all of us, have many passions to satiate, but fight with it intensely and overcome them. Irrefutably, they have many fleshly and worldly desires, but if they know that they are not good or healthy, they abstain and refrain. One of the simple yet difficult conditions to follow Christ is ‘to deny oneself’. If we think profoundly, in fact, it is the hardest thing to do in life. We fall and fall and fall everyday because we yield to our passions and appetites –appetite to eat, drink, speak, do, act, look – desire to become popular, rich, to be praised, appreciated, to defeat, to win, to gossip, to create problems and many more. There are unlimited desires in our lives. But some are smarter in overcoming desires, and those people are different. However, I don’t mean to say that our entire life should be with full of pains and sufferings’, but we should not let our desires rule over us and overcome us if we know that consequence is not good.
I have heard from my elders that life is just a war; if we overcome our desires, we’ll be triumphant. I was taught that if I overcome my desires and work hard, I’ll achieve success in my life. We give exams everyday on the subject ‘desire’ and those who get through or pass more are different from others. It requires patience, self-control, second-thought, consciousness and many other elements. If we brush off this concept considering it to be silly, trivial or insignificant, then we are dominated and overpowered by it and we are enslaved to it. We may have many foes but our greatest foe is ‘our desires’. Its force is so intense that, if we are slipshod or careless, our entire life can be ruined and our carrier spoiled. Suppose, we have a strong desire, and we know that it’s not good, but if we yield to it, then even in the coming days, we easily yield to it and desires overcome us. But, with soberness, if we perceive the dire effects of yielding to passions, and abstain and overcome, it becomes easier to overcome even in the future. The more we want to gratify our desires, the more we are likely to fall. If we study critically, many of human problems are desire related ones, albeit all are not seemingly decipherable.
The second reason I would like to stress is ‘overcoming problem(s)’. Everyone on this earth has problems. If you say that you do not have any problem, something is wrong with you. Even if we don’t have problem with others, we have problem with ourselves. The degree of pain and suffering is different with different people. But some are smarter in tackling with problems. Some people, when burdened with a problem which is not very big or heavy, they would take it very big and express in a way that it is the biggest problem in life. But, some people, though face untold pains and sufferings, they endure very well and stay as if they are not affected. So, I have learnt that those are better in tackling with problems or enduring pains and sufferings in life become different from others. I mean, different in a good way. It is a known fact that those great, popular and outstanding personalities in the world faced many problems. But they were undaunted by the hardships they underwent and overcome them. That’s how they become different. When Albert Einstein was widely appreciated and acclaimed for his outstanding performances, he said, “It is not that I am so smart, it is just that I stay with problems longer”. What an inspiring statement! I have seen many people with many problems, but some are seemingly smarter in overcoming problems and they are different – different in a good sense. So dealing or tackling with problems, pains and sufferings better makes a person different.
Obviously, there will be many reasons that make a person different. But these are the two points I over and over again contemplate and get much inspiration. And I strongly believe that, if we are good in overcoming these two elements, we’ll be different. If we become smarter and smarter in overcoming them, we’ll become very different. But, it is not easy because we are feeble fleshly beings. We need something which is beyond human strength and ability to intervene, and it comes from God, our Creator. To be able to overcome our desires and problems, we need to seek God, obey Him, trust Him and ask His help. Our mighty God who is above everything can make possible which is not possible for us. We cannot ignore nor cremate the desires and problems; we have to face them all throughout our life, and hence, we need God till our last breath. May God help us to overcome what we cannot overcome!
