Writing for my children 5

TO NEED AN IDEAL OF LIFE


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I am told that a horse without a bridle will wander around won’t know where to go, and a boat without a rudder won’t know where the port is. It’s the same to human beings, if we don’t have a direction to go, a purpose to do, or an ideal to live in general we will be unsettled like a log floating in a sea.

When you hear the word “Ideal”, you imagine as something far away, don’t you? However, if we talk about “Purpose”, you will see this is close and more practical. It’s right my dear! People who engage in a competition, a race to win all of them consider the destination or the purpose. A destination is a point, a line, or a highest and last condition which they need to achieve to finish the competition. This is the winner, the champion, or the invincible. Nevertheless, an ideal will be higher, more beautiful, and sometimes it seems to be an imagination. Don’t you feel more difficult to understand? For example, supposing that a student who’ d like to become a doctor (purpose) to serve, to take care of people, and to soothe the people’s sufferings (ideal). A monk, who abandons every joy of the mundane world, stays in the ethical principles, enjoys the monkhood, and wishes someday he will achieve liberation, or enlightenment (purpose), in order to help others to free from sufferings, and get out the circle of existence (ideal). Up to here, perhaps you can understand a little bit about what purpose is, and what ideal is, don’t you? I don’t know whether a worm or a butterfly has any of thoughts, or if they have ever thought of their lives. However, I have seen there are many species of worms, that the whole of their lives, they only eat leaves, carve trees, and destroyed some people’s crops, and that make people being anxiety, and suffering; or dor-beetles that live in the dung or some kind of dirty thing. Butterflies just fly around from this flower to that flower to gather honey, but they have just their color wings, that you like to watch. And if cutting off their wings, you might not want to look at them anymore. At least honey-bees when they collect pollen, they help flowers pollinating to become fruits, and then they turn pollen into honey which benefits for our human life, their lives that make a lot of meaning. What do you want your lives look like? Do you want to live like dor-beetles in dung, or some kind of dirty things; butterflies wandering around enjoying yourselves; or honey- bees to make some kinds of benefit to human life and others?

My dear children,

In all of above, daddy have proved for you guys the difference between human beings and animals - insects about the “meaning” of life. We human beings have thoughts and intelligence so that we are more transcendent than animals. We know what wrong or right is; which good, which we should do or not, or which we should avoid. And because of thoughts and intelligence, we human beings know how to organize, to tend, to improve, and to make our life better day by day. After the I and II World War, people felt that their lives were not safe. As the result, they started to live hurriedly, enjoyed every pleasure and everything that they had. They lost the direction, so they became dorbeetles: living with their commonplace Instinct; and sometimes they even became worms: “destroying their societies.” They lost their human right sense, thoughts, and lofty purpose.

My dears,

When I started to write this, daddy had written “Being human being is precious,” in order to help you understanding your “human condition”. It’s not easy to have human body, and intelligence. You guys have endowed human wisdom and bodies; so there is no reason whether you’d like to live like dorbeetles, worms, or plants. You guys should consider, and think carefully again! Daddy feel that you guys should build up an ideal of life to help your lives becoming the useful lives as the honey-bees; if not, you will live idly, harmlessly, innocently as butterflies. It’s okay! However, I am told that “Being young men should be worthy as young men. Going to the east, eastern side would be calm; backing to the west, western side would be tranquil as well.” Engaging into life to dedicate your energies, your hands, and to bring happiness for yourselves, and others, isn’t it better? Don’t you social workers, people who work for Red Cross Association, Red Crescent Moon Association or volunteer people? They work with their joy, and they bring their loves to share to others by their activities. They take the suffering’s people’s delight to be their own joyfulness. These good deeds are lofty, aren’t they? Why can they do such things? Since they have their ideal of life, they live for theirs, and they work for their ideal of life! Also with an ideal, people can overcome every trouble, obstacle, and they are not afraid of arrestment, imprison, or torture. It’s right “Power can’t subdue!”

The ideal is the moonlight illuminating your path in the dark. It’s also your comrade, your team-mate, your fellow-traveler, and your inmost person to soothe you anytime you face your obstacle. The ideal is the true sunlight brightening in your heart to lead you realizing what you whishing without being shy off or afraid!

My dear children,

Up to now, daddy think that I have written enough to help you understanding a little bit about an ideal. From this perception, you can consider your direction; at the same time you can build up your ideal for your own lives in the future. Daddy hope that you guys will have a human life and a generation which meaningful not just for yourselves, but for people, society, and everyone around you. Daddy wish my children would advance forward strongly…!
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Viết Cho Con: 5- Cần Có Một Lý Tưởng Sống
Hư Trúc translated May 13, 2010
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