. Another lesson I gleaned from the movie was three rules of life. In the movie the mentor, Socrates, talks about three rules of life being paradox, humor and change.Paradox
The first rule is that life is a paradox. Life is a mystery and it is a waste of time trying to figure it out. We all have a tendency to want answers, to understand why things are the way they are. But sometimes there are no answers to be had and trying to find an answer is a waste of valuable time and energy.
When my late wife passed away, a question many people expressed was "Why would she be taken?" Maria was just 36 when she was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She had just given birth to our fourth child a week earlier. Our oldest was only seven at the time. Maria was a beautiful, talented woman and a wonderful mother but just a year and a half later, after having suffered terrible, she was taken from mortality. And thus the cry went up among many, why her, why now? When her children needed her so much, when she had spent so much of her life in service to others, why would God take her away?
Of course there is no answer to be had at this time to such questions. When Maria passed away I found myself comforting others that had been wrestling with these very questions. I remember telling then that I did not know why, but I knew God did, and I had trust in God and that was sufficient for me.
Many other events have occurred in my life where there have been no answers to what has and is happening. I have learnt that such answers generally are not to be had in this life, or at least in the present. Instead of spending time and energy and heartache trying to resolve them, I have learnt to have faith that God directs my path, to accept what comes and to make the most of it. Indeed my motto came to be "It's life, deal with it."
Humor
Socrates shares that we need to keep a sense of humor, especially about ourselves and that doing so will be a strength beyond measure.
A favorite verse in the book of Proverbs reads:
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (Prov 17:22)
Being able to laugh about life, even in the darkest of times, lifts the soul and lightens the heart. When difficulties beset us we have two choices: we can either let it get us down, or we can face it cheerfully. The choice is ours to make. So often in life I have face enormous challenges that often seemed insurmountable; situations which at the time seemed impossible to solve. People, on hearing my story, are often amazed about how I have gotten through these multiple challenges. At times it has been difficult. But I have learnt to laugh and find the humor in whatever situation I find myself in, and always keep a smile on my face. That, more than anything else, has got me through the hard times.
Change
The third rule is that nothing stays the same. No matter how well we plan things, there is no guarantee it will work out as we thought it would. When you set your goals in life, do not let yourself be tied to a certain outcome or even a certain time frame. The Scottish poet Robert Burns once wrote a poem entitled "To a Mouse" on turning up her nest while plowing one day. The poem contains the famous line:
The best-laid schemes o' Mice an' Men
Gang aft a-gley
These three simply rules have helped me see more clearly as I have navigated life and I hope they will help you too.
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