Man does not live by bread alone!
Many years ago, I remember watching the American black comedy 'War of the Roses' starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. What was remarkable about this was the fact that it left me thinking about what it is that gives life its purpose or, simply put, perhaps goes some way to answering the ultimate question 'Why do we live?' Several years earlier, I remember taking the opportunity to ask this very question to a guest speaker during that morning's school assembly. However, the visiting vicar was reticent to answer and I was chided by my form tutor for my impudence (he took it as an attempt to embarrass our esteemed guest - which, in part, it was!) Despite being a big fan of Douglas Adams, author of 'The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy', I've never quite accepted the notion that 42 is the definitive answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, and have ventured further in my quest to answer this quintessential enigma.
So what is the point in life when the end result is always the same - death. Indeed, from the moment we are born, we are dying. For those lucky enough to be living in the Western World, with its cutting edge technology and modern medicine, life expectancy is, on average, 75-80 years. For those in poorer countries such as Sierra Leone it is reported to be as low as 43 (United Nations, 2007). The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a new indicator, Disability Adjusted Life Expectancy (DALE), which determines healthy life expectancy. This involves subtracting the years of ill health, weighted according to severity, from the overall life expectancy to give a figure for years of healthy, quality living. In other words, after a certain age an individual is no longer able to experience the pleasures of life, may have lost some of their mental faculties and is merely 'hanging on' or, worse still, just waiting to die. In Australia, this figure is 73 years old while in Sierra Leone it is only 26 (WHO, 2000).
But, for some, this final phase of life appears to arrive far too early and life is invariably a struggle. Many people are depressed and unhappy and just go through the motions of waking, working, eating and sleeping, to the point that they are simply 'existing' and not 'living'. For some, even this is too much, and there seems 'little point in living'; this phase can eventuate in an attempt to escape reality, often through alcohol or hard drugs and even suicide.
Returning once more to 'War of the Roses', and I guess many of you will be wondering how some superficial American comedy could even come remotely close to providing an answer to the one question that has evaded the greatest philosophers and thinkers of our time. Well, the fact was that proceeding this movie, my mind was jolted into a period of reflection, a rare moment for a young man who was always rushing around searching for new ways to dispense his boundless energy. Kathleen Turner's character, Barbara, had a dream to have a family, a large mansion and the most lavish of furnishings. Over the next few years she indulges this passion and her life is consumed with the joy of achieving this dream. With this passion and interest comes fulfillment. Nevertheless, Barbara fulfills her ultimate goals and, later, when her two children leave for college she is left empty and bored and her life begins to unravel. She halts the decline temporarily, by beginning a pate business and this gives reason once again to her existence. However, once this new passion is satiated the downward spiral of discontent reconvenes and the ensuing 'war' with her husband finally results in both protagonists falling to an untimely death from one of their mansion's chandeliers.
Janyon Photography, 2013 We are only given one life and so we need to make the most of it while we can. Perhaps this is the true meaning of life. Barbara was happy and content until she had accomplished her dream; she was able to find a new passion through cooking but her mistake was not to find another when this passion had burnt out. For some, their passion is their children, their family, their home; for others it may be religion, education, a career or a hobby. For me, and many of my friends, it has always been sport, and although the nature of this has morphed from football to rugby, to jui jitsu, boxing and climbing it has now settled on cycling. An interest or 'passion' like this gives a reason to each passing day, week or year. As a result, pleasure and enjoyment follows and the mind is filled with satisfaction and a sense of progression and personal improvement. Most importantly, the passion is one very personal to the recipient and, at no time, needs to involve being the best but being the best that person can be. So long as individual goals are realised, that person will continue to bond with their personal interest.
To say that I have a love for cycling would be an understatement. I reap great joy from riding in all its forms. I garner extreme pleasure from commuting to work every morning, regardless of the weather. I love the fact that I can start the day expending energy purposefully and have almost complete control over my journey and the speed I propel myself to my final destination. After a stressful day, returning home on the bike is extremely cathartic and a great way to forget the troubles and stresses of earlier. Training and racing bring further pleasures, and winning races and gracing the podium bring obvious satisfaction but, regardless of this, my life has purpose and direction.
But not everybody races at the 'pointy end' and, indeed, it is the majority who race without lofty expectations but purely for the love of it. It is often asked why some would continually enter races, particularly those endurance events ranging from 100 km to 24 hours where pain and suffering is guaranteed and there is no financial reward or prize at the end. The answer is not 42...the answer is the passion, the occasion, the challenge and the love of what they do and what they achieve for themselves. This fact alone make racing worthwhile and consequently individual lives are enriched. For this reason, the hoards of 'weekend warriors' clearly outnumber those racing for podium glory.
But not everybody races at the 'pointy end' and, indeed, it is the majority who race without lofty expectations but purely for the love of it. It is often asked why some would continually enter races, particularly those endurance events ranging from 100 km to 24 hours where pain and suffering is guaranteed and there is no financial reward or prize at the end. The answer is not 42...the answer is the passion, the occasion, the challenge and the love of what they do and what they achieve for themselves. This fact alone make racing worthwhile and consequently individual lives are enriched. For this reason, the hoards of 'weekend warriors' clearly outnumber those racing for podium glory.
So what should Barbara have done once she had lost her interest in the pate business? To address this question, I can delve once more into the cavern of sport. In 1985, Boris Becker won Wimbledon at the age of seventeen. He started playing tennis aged just eight and by twelve years old he was focussed almost totally on the game. On achieving the ultimate goal for a grass court player he could have been excused for a loss of focus. Once his career was over, I recall watching an interview in which he was asked how he had managed to keep training at such a high intensity whilst retaining the same appetite for the game. Boris answered that after a period of 'emptiness' he managed to reset his goals and set out with renewed enthusiasm and vigour to win as many Grand Slam titles as possible. So for Barbara, she needed to reassess her situation and rekindle her passion in a new interest in order to give her life continued fulfillment. As the bible states 'Man cannot live by bread alone'. In other words, physical nourishment and basic survival is not sufficient for a healthy life and although the original context referred to 'God' and spiritual fulfillment, the adage can certainly be interpreted to mean that in order to live a full and happy life we need love, companionship, happiness, friendship and excitement.
Living in the Western World, with all its advancement, technology and opportunities is a blessing we should all make the most of. No matter how esoteric the ultimate goal, the fact is that later in life the time devoted to a person's individual passion will enable that individual to look back on their existence with a sense of pride and satisfaction, safe in the knowledge that they did as much as they could in the relatively short time they were given to inhabit this wonderful planet.
Living in the Western World, with all its advancement, technology and opportunities is a blessing we should all make the most of. No matter how esoteric the ultimate goal, the fact is that later in life the time devoted to a person's individual passion will enable that individual to look back on their existence with a sense of pride and satisfaction, safe in the knowledge that they did as much as they could in the relatively short time they were given to inhabit this wonderful planet.
RSS Feed
