Life is for Living
Reflection by The Revd Preb Julian Ould
I write this article amidst a certain amount of sadness and sorrow. Since the beginning of the year, I have lost two close friends which has set me thinking. This, however, does not mean I am now going to follow this with a message of gloom, but merely identifying where I am coming from in my thoughts, in that this has set me off on the path of re-appraising my outlook on life again.
When I was 40, I almost died, developing a serious heart defect that required me being taken to London for important heart surgery. Mercifully after two operations and a few set backs I was well on the road to recovery and 28 years later can look back on that time of my life with enormous gratitude to the surgeon and his staff who quite literally gave me a fresh start and even though it is a long time ago now, I still remember clearly how I felt. Life took on a new meaning and values changed and one passage that I found whilst looking for something for a sermon, which had nothing to do with the sermon, but has stayed with me ever since, written by that prolific author ‘Anon,’ was this:
“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer, or neglect it, for I shall not be passing this way again.”
There is no suggestion that this was written by someone with a deep Christian commitment or indeed any sense of religion, but it quite easily could have been and provides for us all a clear grasp, very much in keeping with Christian values, of how happiness can be found.
Life is most assuredly for living and I would urge those who wish time away for whatever reason, even if it is for something you are looking forward to, to pause and enjoy the now. The now is reality, the future only a hope with no certainties! I would also say, though perhaps more difficult to deal with that if your life is dominated by something that you don’t really enjoy, you should perhaps re-appraise what you are doing. I appreciate that if it is the difference between doing a particular job or not having enough to live that sometimes hard choices have to be made and that we cannot always have what we want. Also, this is not about the lazy desire to do nothing, as I don’t actually believe this brings happiness anyway and was most assuredly not what the writer of my quote was advocating. We certainly do need to do things to bring fulfilment, but in the right and proper way, which in this instance centre around kindness and care, with a recognition that time once had is gone for ever.
We are now moving into the season of Lent and will be very much looking towards the climax of the Easter story and all that this means. The accounts of the resurrection tell us that Jesus’ love is an infinite quality that we can and are invited to share now and for always. The disciples initially looked on in wonder, but gradually were drawn to see that it was experiencing the way of Jesus’ love that brought fulfilment and in like fashion the author of my text is identifying that we should live now least we lose a single second, for ‘I shall not pass this way again.’
Life is for living and we need to seek out the things that bring fulfilment and happiness. The death of my friends has made me look back once again and re-appraise things, which may be why I responded to the sadness surrounding me as I did. I mention this because I regard myself as extremely fortunate in that whilst I might grumble about having too much to do sometimes, I actually love the privilege of my life as a priest and the joy of sharing so many precious moments in people’s lives. Jesus taught us that by learning to love and care not only brought happiness to those around us, but also reaped great joys for us to enjoy. This is surely a good pattern for life, so “Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer, or neglect it, for I shall not be passing this way again.”