All Life Is Good As It Is Because It Is a Gift!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
It's A Wonderful Life!
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
10/27/2014
One of my favorite movies of all time is IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE - from 1939. It starred one of my favorite actors - Jimmy Stewart - and the theme of it was that anyone who has friends is a rich person. In my opinion, I think it is even more basic than that. I would say that anyone who has life is a rich person. As I often tell people, I could be alone on an island and have no human friends at all - and still be as rich as anyone who has a million friends. What does it really matter if I have friends or not - as long as I am enthralled with the Gift of Life Itself?
Many do not see life as being a gift, however; and some think that life is somehow the pathway to a "gift." That gift is often called "eternal life," but what is "eternal life" composed of but "life" itself? The accent, then, should still be on "life" - be it eternal or temporary.
Not so, many will argue. "Eternal Life" is not life itself, but rather some extraordinary life that is far more glorious than any life we may know today. My question to that is - where is the proof? How do you know that some other life is more excellent or glorious than the life we have today?
I look at my life - and I see it's amazing. I look at your life - and I see it's amazing too. You and I are amazing. That is how I see us - and our lives. I see a heart beating beneath my chest that makes my life a miracle. I see a heart beating beneath your chest that makes your life a miracle. I see a heart beating beneath the chest of my pet and your pet - and I still see amazing - and miraculous. I see "A Wonderful Life" - in each and every thing I know.
When people comment that they do not see any wonder in life, I want to ask them, from where do you come - and why do you live? Those are probably not idle questions either. I mean, I think it is likely that I AM the person I am today because of the person I was in a last life. I AM only continuing what I began in a last life - and when I die, it is likely I will be reborn into another miraculous vessel of life and I will continue "being me." Likewise, you will likely be reborn in another vessel that you will see as miraculous or otherwise - and you will continue "being you." If I do not see life as wonderful now in this life, I will probably not see life as wonderful the next time either - just as I did not see life as wonderful in a "past life." But notice what is the same about the expressions of "past life, this life, and next life" - a thing called "life." Right?
As I see it, if there is another life better or different than the one I have now, I will deal with that then - when I get there. For now, though, all I know is the life I have now - even if it is the same as the life I knew before and will be the same as the life I will know. For me, it should be to know and love the life at hand because that life is a gift - and let tomorrow deal with tomorrow. If this life is truly as miraculous, beneficial and amazing as I think it is, let me pay attention to that - and pay no attention to those who might moan about it.
Indeed, IT IS A WONDERFUL LIFE - not because I have friends, but because I have the blessing of life itself. It is Life Itself that is the great treasure; and to that notion, I have dedicated "my life."
As I see it, Gratitude for life is the greatest virtue possible. If I am grateful for the life I have, it matters not that there may be another life out there that you think I may be missing - for in being full of gratitude, I am happy; and if I am happy, of what need have I of anything else?
Will (Francis William) Bessler (nearly 73) considers himself a "Divine Naturist (Holistic) Christian." Find his opinions in his writings website - www.una-bella-vita.com. Also go to Amazon.com and enter "Francis Bessler" in the Search Bar to find a collection of essays and songs by Will Bessler called WILD FLOWERS, published in August, 2014. Will has lived in Laramie, Wyoming since 2002, having previously spent 20 years in Colorado and another 20 in Georgia. Will grew up in Powell, Wyoming.