| buddu |
Posted
on 07-Dec-03 11:20 AM
A friend and mentor, one of the gentlest and kindest men I have ever known, sat across from me during a meeting one evening. The main business had ben concluded, and we were talking generally.
I asked him jokingly what the meaning of life was since he seemed to have all the other answers.He just gave me the strangest look. I was a little flustered and said "Hey, I was joking"
"You mean you don't know??" he said, deadly serious.
That one question has stymied philosophers and dreamers for centuries...and Bill knew the answer??
He looked at me, and shook his head with a smile. "I've known that secret for years"
"So what IS the meaning of life??" I pressed, expecting the punchline to a joke.
Bill leaned onto the table.
"The meaning of life is to live,young man. To give without hesitation, to love without expecting it returned, to care for others and to care for yourself as well. Life is for living, there is no secret, no great meaning. Once you understand that, the rest takes care of itself"
He walked away..I sat there stunned.
He's gone now, but that conversation has lived with me forever.He took a bitter, angry, vicious tempered young man and molded him, taught him, kicked him up the rear when he deserved it...and loved him as he had his own son.
Life is for living, life is for finding in ourselves the joys of life, the gifts we can give for the sake of giving, the love we can give to each other every day.
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