I.C.E. Club – Madagascar

For each of us, at certain points of our lives, opportunities come and rearrange our personal formulas and assumptions – I do not necessarily mean getting rid of the old stuff, but allowing ourselves to surf into the new wave that time and circumstances bring. According to anthropologists, we are indelibly marked, and then subject to immediate identification, by the culture in which we are raised (and also in which we have been complied to live). We carry this imprint in the way we talk and walk, even by our posture. But we are also distinguished in our natural human ability to upgrade (it depends…) ourselves with new things and new thought. Somewhere along the lines, we can say that we have a born-skill to synthesize the familiar with the unfamiliar.

Happiness (the real with a capital “h”) has nothing to do with acquiring material things which many people so often use as a measure of a person’s worth in our so called modern culture. We should find happiness in the recognition of what we already have, and its development and full appreciation.

We should believe that each person is perfect but must work hard to reflect such perfection. We should be aware that a life fully lived is one that being lived in the present. Most of us live too far into the future, or weigh ourselves down with regrets about the past. The unhappiness stems from our tendency to live in the past or future, both of them are illusions.

Living fully each moment, at the moment means living with enthusiasm and spontaneity. It is not only learning the exciting possibilities available for us each moment, it is learning to create them as well.

To believe in oneself is also among the real aspect of human philosophy. It is not unfamiliar idea in our part of the world either, though many of us do not value ourselves as we should do. We believe that time spent on self understanding is useless, even selfish. We are more frightened than challenged by our potential. We understand that we are only able to share the resources we have, but feel guilty about spending the time necessary to develop them.

We should suggest ourselves to live in attentiveness and to be fully aware and open. This requires listening without preconceptions. Our personal world may seem vast, but so small, so limited, so unaware or the whole. Our challenge is to break self-imposed limitations and to accept the fact of our self-limitless, vitally interacting in a limitless universe. There are so much value that we can learn from breaking our own chain. We are all seeking the same things: knowledge, personal growth, inner peace,… these things are attainable in many ways.

At some points of our history, there will be some opportunities to rearrange our life, but most of the time we are afraid to make the step of real and huge change. Most of the time, we excuse ourselves by self-convincing that change brings risk… and risk brings failure. To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach for another is to risk involvement. To expose feeling is to risk exposing your true self. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To believe is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the greatest failure in life is to risk nothing. The people, who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, and are nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love and live. Chained by their attitudes, they are slaves, they have forfeited their freedom. Only people who risk are free.

Life is not a pre-written page, it is a book in which pages are needed to be written by us with the ink of courage and self-discovery.

- This article will be subject to discussion on Saturday, December 16th, 2006 from 10am to 12:00 noon at the ICE Club meeting, Tahala Rarihasina Center, Analakely.

Andry

(Published in Midi Madagasikara P.12 on December 7th, 2006)