LIFE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

Feb 15, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

In Guyana, many take life for granted. Lest we forget, life is precious. It is the most prized gift from the Creator to mankind. But in the midst of all the death around us in Guyana—murders, traffic fatalities and suicides, there is an abundance of life.
As a people, we should join with all those who have lost loved ones to express joy and renewed hope and celebrate life. For many, life is good, but for others, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, life is a challenge, but it should not be taken for granted.
It is said that life is eternal and death is inevitable.The milestones and occasions that mark every life are cause for celebration, whether they are engagements, marriages, anniversaries, the birth of a child, or a long life well-lived. Most of us mark these occasions as a commemoration to the celebration of life.
We in Guyana, like many others in the world, have many problems. In 2017, we must strive to overcome these problems and work towards building a better and prosperous Guyana for all to enjoy. However, there is much excitement in celebrating life and there is absolutely no reason we cannot do so every day, even if life is a gift that is fleeting. We do not need a special reason, a special day or a party to celebrate life.
Life is a party in itself and the fact that we have so much to live for is reason enough to celebrate.
We celebrate sports; we celebrate the victories of our athletes and others on the world stage for their athleticism. In addition to sports, many have celebrated political victories and the country’s 50th independence anniversary with pomp and ceremony.
We ushered in the New Year with celebrations and with a bounty of new babies. Each new child brings new hope and is a symbol of the dreams and aspirations of their parents and all in society. We hope that as these babies grow up with the love of their families and friends, their lives will be celebrated. Which suggests that the celebration of life does not have to be something luxurious or expensive. It could be small treats, the sharing of gifts and the acknowledgement of how far we have come as a country and how strong and special we are as a people.
In this era where mindlessness and ruthlessness seem to characterize so many youths who are frustrated and hopeless, we need to express our love and appreciation to our relatives and friends every day and not once a year. In the celebration of life, everyone should endeavor to become better individuals, better families, and better communities and ultimately a better country.
We will do well to reflect on Pope Francis’ New Year Message which is an exquisitely simple dictum that says, “The New Year will be good in the measure in which each of us, with the help of God; try to do good day by day. That’s how peace is created. Let’s celebrate life.”
While it is generally recognized that life has many hardships both physically and materially for many, it may be that the self-discipline fostered by these hardships would bring lavish benefits to the country which we should celebrate.
No one can regenerate time and we do not know how many birthdays or wedding anniversaries we will live to celebrate, therefore, we should absolutely celebrate life today and not wait for tomorrow.
With so many uncertainties in life, we should celebrate everything we are and everything we have with mind, body and soul. Life should not be taken for granted.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News