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Why do you live? Do you have something worth living for?

Voldemort: Why do you live?

Harry Potter: Because I have something worth living for.

As an avid fan of Harry Potter series, from books to movies, I anxiously waited for the 7th installment of Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows. As I scanned the trailers and pre-showing of the movie in youtube, I was stunned by this scene where Voldemort got Harry on his chin and asked him this question. And Harry threw in the most powerful answer that he could ever spit on Voldemort’s face, “because I have something worth living for.”

Do we also have something worth living for like Harry Potter?

Did you ever ask yourself the same question? Why do I live? Why do you live? 

As I paced through the streets of Tel-Aviv today, I spent at least 5 seconds of my time to each and every person I passed by and imagined myself asking the same question to them. Why do you live? (Bakit nabuhay ka?). Each and everyone of us has a reason why we live. Sarcastically I can answer, “because my Mom chose to carry me for 9 months and abortion was way too shameful that time”. And yet, that answer is powerful enough to justify the reason why you live. Your mom chose you to live for you to become her “worth living for”.

But if we dig deeper, the question does not significantly dwell on the idea of just being able to live. It doesn’t speak about breathing in and breathing out. It’s the individual purpose of living. One chose to live a life because he has a very important reason to continue living. Or one can chose to be a living dead because he has nothing and just afraid to kill himself. It’s a matter of what you have and what you chose to have.

One good reason for you to live is your family and friends. As a Filipino who grew up in a culture with tight family relationship, we often sacrificed ourselves for the sake of our family. Are they worth living for? Yes. Because at the end of the day, when everyone shuts their doors in your face, your family will be your only refuge. They will never abandon you nor deny you. But sometimes, because of too much responsibility, we get too tired and forget that our family should be our first priority. We became selfish and we tend to slip away from them. Self-centered as we are, we tried to seek happiness in other things and other people. Only in the end we realized that these people will only take us for granted and all of a sudden we were alone, lost and miserable. 

 

 

God. Is He worth living for?

A Big Yes. Because it’s him who gave you your life in the first place. He gave you your life because you have a purpose. A purpose of finding the RIGHT reasons to live. But because of worldly things, we completely forget what we “must” have. Instead we were blinded by material things that we “want” to have. And money became the most important thing in our lives. It became our “God” and we became slaves of it. As quoted from a blog that I read, “The world is filled with stuff. Don’t let stuff get in the way of what is important. When you become chained to your stuff, you are no longer leading your life. Ask yourself: if you had to give up 90% of your net worth tomorrow to have a peaceful life with God, could you do it effortlessly? If you hesitated, perhaps your ability to lead your own life has been weakened by your attachment to stuff”. Because admit it, it’s too difficult to convince yourself that it’s not money but God who is worth living for. Money is a resource that can be applied when leading your life. You can use it to reduce discomforts, focus on meaningful work and apply it to help you learn and improve. But once you let money in control, it will lead you to distraction and will pushed you away from what’s really important. It will give you temporary happiness and in the end, you are still shallow and empty.

 

Are you your own hero?

Lastly, the most important reason for you to live is YOURSELF. Are you your own Hero? It’s a conscious question to determine who we are. It’s a choice we make everyday. To do the right thing or to leave it just like that because we don’t want to compromise. All our active and passive actions is reflected to our behavior and determines who we are as a person. But the question is, why do we choose to do the wrong thing if we perfectly know what’s right? Will you allow someone to run away after beating an old woman on the street? Will you push somebody because you want to be first on the line? Will you just go blind if you see your husband cheating on you because you are afraid he will leave you and your children? Then ponder with Hamlet’s “to be or not to be”. It’s impossible to live without compromise. 

BUT, you cannot be of someone else’s hero if you cannot be your own hero. Leading your life is not easy. Oftentimes we find ourselves in the midst of trouble and frustrations and we eventually ignore the idea of compromising. It’s much easier to follow the assumptions of others even if it will left you unfulfilled. Is it worth living for? Never let anyone call the shots or dictates you on how to live your life. You can take inputs and pick some pieces of their minds but still the final call is yours. Everyone was given enough wisdom to lead their lives the way they want it but we cannot ignore the fact that there are times that we are overshadowed with doubts and fears. But don’t let this moment weakened you and let others take you for granted. You have to take your stand and do what you think is beneficial and right for you. Because at the end of the day, you still have to choose and it’s nobody’s choice but yours. We have a purpose. Once you feel that great purpose for your life and it comes from within, that is your greatest asset. With that belief you are the leader of your own life.

So, if someone ask you “Why do you live?”, can you be as brave as Harry Potter and say “because I have something worth living for?” Assess your life now. What do you have right now? Money, Fame, Power, God, Family, Values, Honor. What did you choose to have? 

Why do you live?

And you...

Do you have something worth living for?

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