WORTH OR WORTHLESS!!

Michael Schumacher

Having written at length on politics, politicians, their misdemeanours, greed and, more importantly, their false sense of values; I felt compelled to dwell a little philosophically, on the knowledge of reality, the causes and nature of things and the principles governing our existence, our personal rule of life!!!  Most times I get messages that touch me and I feel they are well worth sharing!!!  Quite often I find myself doing an evaluation of my own life and the sense of values I apply!!!  One of the many messages I received was the tragic story of Formula 1 Driver Michael Schumacher!!!  Michael won the Grand Prix in 1991 and was Formula 1 Champion seven times!!!  Happiness was his; he was a fulfilled man but one fateful day tragedy struck and due to an accident his life was changed forever!!!  Today, with just 44 kilos in weight, Michael is struggling to survive since December 2013!!!  In absolute desperation, his wife has started selling his things in an effort to keep him alive; a room in his house has been adapted to his needs and sadly he just lies there like a vegetable!!!

Change is constant 

So, the big question is: Who is better than Who??? NO ONE!!!  Life can take the most unexpected direction in a fraction of a second; it is amazing how everything can change in an instant; no one is exempt from it, no one is immune!!!  MONEY, TITLES, SUCCESS, FAME, POWER, IN NO CIRCUMSTANCE, ARE THEY OF ANY VALUE!!!  WHY THE PRIDE THEN, WHY THE ARROGANCE, WHY SO MUCH ATTACHMENT TO MATERIAL GOODS, WHY THE INSATIABLE DESIRE TO HOLD ON TO POWER, TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES A MISERY, WHY VICTIMIZATION, WHY THE ANGER, WHY THE COMPELLING NEED TO BE NO. 1???  WHY? WHY? WHY???

Born with nothing; go with nothing

All of us and most importantly, our politicians, should realize that ALL WE HAVE IS TODAY, and we should live today with passion, enjoy it to the fullest, DOING GOOD, SERVING OUR NEIGHBOURS AND BRINGING JOY TO ALL WE MEET!!!  We need to stop creating problems for others, making insignificant claims and unfounded allegations that destroy other people’s lives!!!  We should take special care not to lose the people who truly care about us and who truly accept us for who and what we are!!! As in the game of chess, the King and Pawn both go into the same box; it is exactly what happens in real life, we ALL go to the unknown in a box, kings, queens, Presidents, the common man like you and me!!!  We are ALL BORN WITH NOTHING, WE GO WITH NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, SO WHY THE URGENCY BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH TO FIGHT FOR WHAT WE DID NOT BRING AND EVEN MORE SADLY FOR WHAT WE WILL NOT TAKE???  IT IS AN INTERESTING REFLECTION, ONE THAT MANY OF US MOST OFTEN FORGET OR JUST SIMPLY IGNORE, MUCH TO OUR DETRIMENT!!!  In the Final Analysis, what matters is that we NEVER EVER FORGET THAT TO BE GREAT WE HAVE TO BE HUMBLE, THAT IS THE CRITERION - BEING HUMBlE!!!  Confidence does not come when you have all the Answers, but it comes when you are ready to face all the Questions!!! In the same way, we don’t grow when things are easy; we grow when we face challenges and are strengthened by facing challenges honestly and straightforwardly!!!

Charter

Living in this country is a horrible challenge to anyone’s integrity; how can an honest man face a challenge when he has such glaring examples of conspiracy, treachery and Ambassadors claiming to rise above audit queries, when the amount involved is Rs. 7.8 million loss to the country and he is not even being brought back and asked to account for chartering a flight???  When and how is all this money going to be accounted for???  It does not end there however, there is more!!!  There was also a chartered flight to the Maldives for this personage, who is given the honoured title of AMBASSADOR JALIYA WICKRAMASURIYA, but the flight was booked under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without the knowledge of the Ministry and apparently, no audits have been conducted on any of these occasions!!!  When and where is all this treachery and looting of the country’s money going to cease???  It was revealed at the PCoI that the Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Commonwealth Games Committee owe SriLankan Airlines Rs. 122.3 million for Chartered Flights booked between 2006 and 2014!!!

Why, why, why? 

We are compelled to ask here, what happened to all the other fraudsters, who under the guise of important titles have plundered our country – Mahendran, still posing as Governor of the Central Bank and even going to the extent of giving advice!!!  Then we have Udayangana, Aloysius and Palisena, the Avante Garde Consortium, and the Good Lord only know who else but they are all being covered up, swept out of mind and sight, WHY, WHY, WHY??? Are these the people who we are going to vote for???  Do they deserve our vote???  They say that for a policeman to apprehend a thief, the policeman must be an honest man!!!  How many HONEST POLITICIANS DO WE HAVE???  WHEN OUR POLITICIANS COVER UP ALL THESE FELONIE,  ARE WE EXPECTED TO VOTE FOR THEM???  THERE IS ONE MAN, RANJAN RAMANAYAKE WHO HAS THE GUTS TO SAY WHAT HE HAS TO; TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG AND THEY ARE TRYING TO SEND HIM TO PRISON TO SILENCE HIM!!!  WHAT COURT RULINGS OF ANY CONSEQUENCE HAS THE SUPREME HIGH COURT BROUGHT IN SO FAR???

War on drug 

The enormous quantity of drugs being brought into the country is indeed frightening and it is heartening to note that the President is taking such vindicatory action against these smugglers who seem to have no conscience!!!  The horrifying part is the school scenario, where the drugs are sold to innocent school children who are oblivious to what they are buying, most often in the form of sweets!!!  We have said before, there should be some Police or Public Health Inspector posted in each school to monitor the sale of drugs to these children!!!  The schools themselves should initiate action, stern action to eradicate this menace!!!

Life is a laugh 

To end on a word of caution, we all need to remember that Happiness is not found with those who have the best of everything; rather it is found with those who make the best of everything!!!  So, let us seek to live simply, speak kindly, care deeply and give generously.  In the journey of life we pass pleasures and pain, we have to contend with both sunshine and rain, loss and gain, but we just have to smile and keep on trying again and again!!!