The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.
~~ C.S. Lewis ~~ (1898 - 1963)
That’s exactly true! Whether we sit, sleep, whine, grumble or do something useful, we keep reaching the future at the rate of 60 minutes an hour until we take our last breath, then the time stops and that precisely is moment when one’s future comes to a complete halt permanently! LOL
So if you were waiting for your future, don’t - the future is now and it is passing you by at the rate of 60 minutes an hour.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
~~ C.S. Lewis ~~ (1898 - 1963)
I only partially agree with this quote. While it’s important to aim high, the aim should have a reasonable chance of getting achieved. The trouble with aiming extremely high is that most people will give up when they find themselves no where near their aim in spite of their best efforts. Aiming extremely high or pursuing an unattainable goal may turn out to be nothing more than day-dreaming.
A good example of an aim that is unlikely to be achieved is Ralph Nader’s efforts to become president of the United States of America. This is his fourth attempt and his chances of getting elected this year or in the foreseeable future, if he decides to try again, are next to nil. This doesn’t mean that he won’t make a good president if elected; indeed he might make an excellent president. But the political reality is that his aim is unattainable.
I don’t think anybody in this world ever really knows where exactly they want to go. However, one can charter one’s journey of life as to what direction one wants to go. That can be done with setting a reasonable and realistic aim or goal, persistently working towards that goal and overcoming any problems that will inevitably arise.
If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
~~ C.S. Lewis ~~ (1898 - 1963)
I don’t think universe has no meaning. It’s just that we don’t understand it and will probably never understand it. While we consider ourselves to be very important, in the grand scheme of the universe, we are actually quite insignificant.
Sun , Earth and Sun’s other planets have been around for billions and billions of years whereas, as individuals, most of us live less than 100 years - a totally insignificant number compared to billions. Even collectively as a human race we have been around for only a few million years - still a very tiny and insignificant number. The universe, which comprises of not just our Sun and its planets but countless other stars and planets, happily existed long, long before us and will happily exist if, by any chance, we become extinct just like the dinosaurs.
So the question remains: What is the meaning of universe and why does it exist? The simple answer is: We don’t know. What we do know is that the universe is limitless, just take a look at the sky on a clear night and all the stars that you see also make part of this universe. Some of these stars are way larger than our Sun which, by the way, is also a star. We also know that these stars also have planets circling around them just like our Sun has planets. And then we have comets and asteroids and all other stuff floating around in space. All this show - if I can call it a show - of countless stars and their planets can’t be just meaningless; it has to have some meaning. We just don’t know what that meaning might be.
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.
~~ C.S. Lewis ~~ (1898 - 1963)
I agree that we should not regret leaving this world but I don’t agree that there are better things ahead. In my view, there is no ahead; this is it. When you are dead, you are dead and you just become dust! That’s also a good reason why we should let the end come when it comes and should not be in a rush to make an exit from this world. After all, why should anybody be in a rush to become a piece of dust?! LOL.
And never expect that the world will be kind to you. The world rarely, if ever, is kind to anybody; so why you’ll expect it to be kind to you? Instead learn to fight your battles with the world. You’ll win some and you’ll lose some! That’s just the way it is.
