#13 Life Is an Experience
Contemplating on the unavoidable: sadness, suffering, and the impermanence of existence
“And to serve your own mind so that sadness or joy does not sway or move it; to understand what you can do nothing about and to be content with it as with fate—this is the perfection of virtue.” — Chuang Tzu
Pain and suffering are an unavoidable part of life. Like some of the toughest challenges, they can devour and break us if we cave in.
From a different perspective, whether we reconcile with the scars and sad memories from the past can determine how we will lead the rest of life’s journey.
Lately, I have been organizing my personal letters collected over the years. After re-reading a few written by my academic advisor in graduate school, I realized that some of our pains and emotions never go away. They hide somewhere in the corner of our inner room.
As time passes, those emotions and overlooked memories become a part of our souls. It is a weird feeling that, after so many years, we can still unwittingly relive the details of a particular moment in life. They behave like uninvited guests, coming into our lives voluntarily and departing us in a way that makes us assume we have forgotten about them.
I remember that day when I heard the news of my academic advisor’s death. It took me a while to recover from that state of freezing. Eventually, I could make peace with the reality that he could not escape the rampant spread of COVID-19. Yet, I could not resist the comeback of our shared memories.
I remember those enjoyable and frank conversations on politics, families, and many other things during his office hours. I remember enjoying reading his thorough and detailed feedback on my papers. I remember telling him I would visit him to catch up with my most recent life discoveries…
In retrospect, life moves so fast that we often find ourselves unprepared for all its surprises. Sometimes, we want the passage of time to slow down a bit. Nevertheless, we know our wishful thinking cannot resist the constant cycle of life.
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