In the end.

Funny with all the things going on around me i.e. project, lectures, tutorials, shopping, etc. I still get those day-dreaming times. The one that has been playing around my mind recently is... how shallow humans get.

Not shallow as in, taking only good stuff but overall. I mean, for many people, having a successful career is important. Not only to the money loving and power loving people, but also to the general nice public. Having a good job means stability, putting food on the table and a bit extra for those extravagants now and again. When choosing uni course, choose those with job opportunities. When choosing which job to go for, choose one with better job prospect. Go uni that has good status.

For the less career minded, having a good family is important. Or having good friends. Getting married. Find a love one, settle down, have children, put them through college and play with their grandchildren.

But when you look at the big picture (meaning the goal at the end of it), none of this matters in the end. So you are a millionaire, how much is that worth in the end? When you are on your deathbed, can you look back and say you have a great life? To me, a career is nothing. Having a great family means a lot, but not something worthwhile.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, in the end, what's the meaning of life? Is it getting a good career? Is it having a good family, continuing the family line? Or is it making the world a better place. Or doing what God wants us to do here on Earth.

When you stop and think of the world from a broad perspective, many things in life are very insignificant. Your great career will be forgotten in 10 years. The contributions to charity, probably 10 months after the drive is over. Humans are prone to forget. We forget the good things people have done for us. We forget the importance of various moments in life. We lose sight of the meaning of things.

We get an education in order to supply ourselves with the necessary tools to go out into the world and do good. It's not for the As, the First Class, or for the big money.

Linkin Park's song In The End is a very good example:

I tried so hard and got so far,
but in the end, it doesn't even matter.
I had to fall to lose it all,
but in the end, it doesn't even matter.

A certificate is but a piece of paper saying you learn certain skills. It begs debate when having an education doesn't necessarily prepare you for the real world and that some people don't need an education to go through life. What's it all worth? From a Christian point of view, what would we tell God and Jesus about our life? That we manage to produce more people for His Earth? That we made a million dollars? Or that we made a difference in this world. That we have made the world better for those still on it and for the other livings things God has bless the Earth with. That we took care of the Earth that we were entrusted with and not spoil it's beauty.

Why do we do what we do? We meet people, make friends but sooner or later, we break apart. Even families don't stay together always. Granted families maintain contact but then, they get their own families and spent more times with them. If friends come and go, why meet them in the first place? If we live as hermits, we never have to endure the sorrow of parting. The job we take, is for us, and not for anyone else. The company can replace you tomorrow. But what they can't replace or even destroy, is the legacy you leave behind.

Everyone has their own lives, even twins. The reason I believe friends are there is because there is a purpose. They come into our lives, touch it, change it in a way so wonderful, it's indelible. When their purpose for our lives is done, they inevitably move on to touch someone else's life. For who we are in not just inborn. The life we live, the decisions we make are all due to influence from people, whether it's a salesman or your best friends.

They say no one can influence your decision if you don't want to. I think, whether we or they like it or not, the influence is there. We reject their advise because we don't agree with it. However, when you ask a few people, we tend to think over all their advises and make the right decisions. Whether the advise was good or bad, it has an influence on our final decisions. It's not seen but it's there. It lingers, long after it's been said.

Sometimes, our actions are enough influence. There are many people who have mould their lives by seeing how others live theirs. I firmly believe that while we live different lives and have different charaters, its mostly due to a mixture of all the influence around us.

In the same way, I believe we can all influence one another. The choice is, whether we choose to or not. As for me, I would like to think I've made a difference in the lives of those around me. I might never know about it, I might not think about it, but I'd like to believe its there. So the qustion now is, have I influenced you today?