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LIFE IS UNCERTAIN
Marian Baltazar
Class of 1980, University of the Philippines College of Manila
AB Political Science
We are not used to contemplate on death or even come to terms with it, for death is certain to come and the
fact remains that life is uncertain simply because we will never know when we are going to kick the bucket.
What we usually do is to avoid talking about it and try to live as if we were never going to die. On the contrary,
we should be fully conscious of this reality and also know the reasons as to why we should consider the
contemplation of death. We are not trying to be morbid or depressed when we contemplate about death but it
is rather for the purpose of helping ourselves to overcome our fear. As long as we have fear of death, we
cannot live our life to the fullest and at its best.
Life is uncertain but if we will be fully aware that death is certain, then it will change the way we live and it will
apparently change our attitudes towards life. Our values in life will drastically change once we consider the fact
that we are not going to live forever. Come to think of it, we should develop the ability to approach and face
death in the right perspective and in a peaceful way. In that manner, we could say that when we contemplate
on death, we can have a three-fold benefit. We can actually be relieved of fear; we could also bring a new
quality to our life which will enable us to live life in a higher value and it will enable us to die in dignity too.
We deal with our life as if we are sure to know what comes next or what we could do and always think of what
would happen years from now. More often than not, we sometimes say, tomorrow we will go to such and such
place, stay there for a year or two, sell and make profit; whereas, we are not sure what will happen tomorrow.
For what is our life? It is just like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. It is like the grass
that withers and dies, as written in the word of the Lord. Shouldn’t we instead say, “If the Lord wills, we should
do this or do that.”
Life is short. It is uncertain for there is no guarantee that we will still live to see tomorrow. Life can be so vain
without God. There are so many people who live their lives without giving God a second thought. We have to
bear in mind that without God in our life, all we do is in vain and a waste of time for He is the giver of life. So let
us live a good life and die a good death for we may never pass this way again. We’ve got one life to live so let
us not put it to waste but live it to the fullest. For we know that life is uncertain and the only way to combat
this is to live as if today will be the last day of the rest of your life.
Questions for discussion:
1.
What can we do to make our lives worth living?
2.
Do you believe that life is uncertain and death is certain? Why or why not?
3.
Do you try to live your life to the fullest or just try to wile your time away? Explain your answer.
4.
What do you do with life’s uncertainty; do you always try to make the most out of it? How?
5.
How do you deal with your life here on earth to make it worth living? Justify your answer.