Greetings friends and comrades. This post was due on the eve before Easter, but due to the vicissitudes of life, I couldn’t publish it. Anyway such is life as the title of this post depicts. As you may know, Christians recently celebrated the Easter Sunday which symbolically depicts the death and resurrection of of Jesus Christ. This singular act alone is enough to tell you life is indeed incomprehensible-for a man to die and resurrect again. Well, well let’s leave that for the theologians.

Today, we shall be looking at a very simple but complex topic in life entitled  “What is life and how can one live through it?” This topic is very dicey, complicated, technical, myopic, broad etc all depending on the angle and context you are you looking at it from, because such is life. In analyzing what is life, one can hardly give a vivid picture of what is life, because what is life to Mr. A might be different from Mr. B. This because they have different experiences, understanding and approach to life. Again, life can be likened to asking  a thousand and one folks in a relationship/marriage what is love or the formula for a successful marriage or life ? They will definitely give you different answers based on their own experience and understanding.

Furthermore, describing life is like asking six blind men to describe an elephant, they will definitely give you different answers based on how they felt it. This goes to show you that just like we have different taste buds, in same way we have different taste to life.

In order to give this topic the particular attention which I think it deserves, let’s see what life means from other perspectives in addition to defining life. Life can be mean different things when issues relating to political, spiritual, academic, social, business, medical etc is mentioned. See some definition of life, Life is “10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it”; “Life is like a football match, never mind the kicks of people, because without the kicks, we may never reach the goal”; “Never sacrifice for what you know is right for what is convenient or expedient. What is the meaning of life- whatever you want it to be”; “Life is a dream for the wise, game for the fool,a comedy for the rich  and a tragedy for the poor”. The list is therefore endless, this is because life is a very broad topic to discuss.

From the philosophical and inspiration point of view,  Benjamin Franklin had this to say “What is the recipe for successful achievement? To mind, there are four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love…Give it the best that there’s in you…..Seize your opportunities ….And be a member of a team” Another way of understanding life is to see it from a rational/balanced point of view depending on the angle of life you are looking at it from.

According to the the author of this article, when asked what is life and how can one live through it? The author Henry Ukazu had this to say ” Life is like a woman you can never fully understand her, just live through it based on the general conventional theories which has been propounded  in addition to acting like you don’t know/understand her”. This is because a lady’s love is unpredictable. As per Mark Twain ” “Apparently  there is nothing that cannot happen”. The question now is what is life. According to some schools of thought,

Life is a challenge –   Meet it,

Life is a gift –    Accept it

Life is an adventure –   Dare it

Life is a sorrow –        Overcome it

Life is a game     –     Play it

Life is a mystery –      Unfold it

Life is a song    –        Sing it

Life is an opportunity – Take it

Life is a journey –        Complete it

Life is a promise    –    Fulfill it

Life is a love –             Enjoy it

Life is a beauty         Praise it

Life is a struggle –   Fight it

Life is a puzzle  –      Solve it

Life is a goal –          Achieve it

Having given an overview on what is life. It is pertinent to know that, life is very easy and hard depending on how an objective mind sees it. This is because, understanding life is like understanding or knowing a particular academic major. Once you know the formula or password of any  major, it gradually opens and becomes easy to assimilate in addition to working through it. Once you’re able to identify the cause of a problem, you have technically solved 50% of the problem. It gets complicated when you don’t’ know the cause or origin of a problem.

Alternatively, we can say life is what we make out of it. In other words, “Life is how you make your bed. According to Lin Yutang “It is not so much what you belief in that matters, as the way in which you believe it, and proceed to translate that belief into action”  All over the world, a lot of married couples are experiencing several challenges in their marriage/relationship, business/finance, health, academic etc which has in turn affected their thought process, approach to life and productivity. Despite, this challenges, Samuel Johnson opined” Few things are impossible to diligence and skill…… Great works are performed, not by strength, but perseverance.

The big question now is how can one live through life?  Due to the variables associated with life, the author believes the only way one can live and understand life apart from seeing it from the creator aspect of it (God) and having  faith as one moves along in life, is to have a positive mental attitude towards life. The author mentioned God because, he’s the creator of the whole universe and as such in order to understand what life is, you have to ask the creator of life because he originated life.

For instance, if you want to find out how Microsoft works, your best bet is to ask Bill Gates. If you want to know how Facebook works, ask Mark Zuckerberg.

It’s pertinent to note that, having faith is another way one can live through life. This is because, as human, we have different passions, desires, interest etc on what we want to do, and as we move along we experience bumps along the way. It is by having faith in oneself and being optimistic that such is the journey and experience of life that we will able to achieve our dreams knowing fully well that misfortunes/disappointments are part of life process and teachings.

Having faith / belief in oneself  is very important in working through life. Learning from others is also an experience itself. Isn’t it true that a wise man learns from his mistake, but the wiser man learns from other people’s mistake. It is important to note that having an open mind that anything can happen regardless of the preparation and investment you may have  made can make your faith and understanding very strong while.

One of the characteristics of successful people is perseverance and strong positive mindset. In living through the vicissitudes of life. According to to Samuel Johnson said ” Few things are impossible to diligence and skill, great works are performed, not by strength, but perseverance. Napoleon Hill lends credence to that statement when he opined “whatsoever the mind can conceive believe it can achieve it”.

The overcoming attitude towards a rational mind should have was rightly captured by life Charles Kettering ” Virtually nothing comes out right the first time. Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. The only time, you don’t fail is the last time you try something, and it works. One fails forward towards success”.

Living through life life can be challenging. According to Mother Theresa, she encourages each and every one of us to have a positive mental attitude towards life regardless of what how the world treats us. It’s a well established fact that many people react or change due to their experiences when dealing or relating with humanity. In an effort to bring empathy into the world, Mother Teresa opine, in other to live a positive life we need to have to have a positive mental attitude. According to her

People are often unreasonable and self-centered, Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people will accuse of ulterior motives – Be kind anyway

If you are honest people may cheat on you, Be honest anyway

The good you do today maybe forgotten, Be good anyway

If you find happiness, people may be jealous Be happy anyway

Give your best anytime and at the end you will discover it is between you and God, It was never between you and them anyway.And I add, because such is life. 

Having giving an insight and overview as to what life is, it is well established fact life is a mystery which we have to live by daily. As pointed out above, we have all passed through trials and experiences which has indeed shaped our thoughts, opinion and concepts of life, however one thing is certain Life ups and downs provides with windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. A good way of looking at is by seeing all the obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want.

Despite all the theories and definition propounded above, a holistic way of looking at life is having this great thought at the back of our minds.

The Adventure of life is to Learn

The Goal of life is to Grow

The Nature of life is to Change

The Challenge of life is to Overcome

The Essence of life is to Care

The Secret of life is to Dare

The Beauty of life is to Give

The Joy of life is to Love

In conclusion, as we go through life in our individual life endeavors, let’s apply all the above mentioned theories and concepts. I know the list is not exhaustive, but at least it can serve as a resourceful tool in living through life. So feel free to drop your comments, be advised it’s a learning process and as such no one and I repeat no one is a monopoly of knowledge.

Be positive, be energized, and be fruitful.