A Good Life with the Principle

          What do you do when you feel agitated and hopeless? I imagine you, as I sometimes did, just want to sit idly for hours without the will to meet with anyone or anything that fails you. When hit hard by such and such depressive feelings, you might go too far and start to talk yourself out of peace, live a worthless life, criticize the world and people around, or feed on self-pity. It is hard for many of us to find peace in the world that seems to be fanned with all kinds of winds of heartbreaking uncertainties. However, we humans are not created to always be hopeless and uncreative. Our world has come this far because we all are born with the seeds of hope and creativity. As there are two sides of the same coin, looking at the brighter side of life will lead us to a brighter future. This presupposes having a good and productive idea to live life. In fact, one way to withstand any lurking nervous breakdowns in life is to anchor our hope to the Principle, the unshakeable and ultimate truth of living a good and worthy life here on this uncertain and changeable earth.

          The Principle, being singular and capitalized because there is only one and unchangeable truth, can radiate into many forms. Systems, cults, beliefs, philosophies, and/or religions are all based on the Principle. This very Principle lays a foundation or gives birth to different ways of doing and living. It fundamentally gives life directions; be they, north, south, east, west, above, or below, good and bad ways to go. It is the ultimate truth, the final destination of life. In one word, it is the Source of life, embracing the end and the beginning at the same point. We then need to first identify the Principle that works best for us and then strictly abide by it. One important thing to remember is that compromise is never permitted whenever we are afflicted with evils or temptations that will lead us astray or away from our Principle.

          As the Principle is essential to living a good and productive life and we must never allow ourselves to be easily lured by negativities or unpleasant circumstances we meet daily, the next question is how can we deal with those unwanted and uninvited “guests”? One easy way for us to wisely get away from their foreboding grip is to take the Principle as the Source for our life to rely on. Once the Source/Principle is identified and firmly adhered to as something real and unchangeable, all other things are second-rate and subject to change, moving along the tide of uncertainties. A shift in perspective beautifully arises with the distinction of Source and resources. Unlike its counterpart “Source,” the word “resources,” taking a plural form and with a small letter “r” is not real or impermanent. In this regard, resources are those many things and experiences we encounter in life here on earth; bad people, awful job settings or environments, misfortunes, heartbreaks, bad breaks, ill-health, and many other life-threatening occurrences are mere resources that will surely dissolve or vanish into thin air in due time.

          Finally, the best thing we can get from a clear distinction between the Principle/Source and resources is that we know how to live a good and productive life. We simply need resources to create in life; the more the better. People, things, and experiences are, both good and bad, the resources we can use in such a way to catapult us to the next level. In fact, they are called resources because we can use and reuse them again and again. This kind of distinction between Source and resources allows us to live by faith in something true and permanent, and not by sight of something less-than and impermanent. A Biblical truth, living by faith but not by sight, is, in short, what enables us to find peace (with the Principle/Source as a guiding Light) more easily in life and, at the same time, enjoy the come-then-go experiences (resources) the earth has to offer. “Hold onto what is true and let go of what is not” is what life kindly asks from us.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tipchan Wongchanta