Reflection

It’s a long weekend in Thailand and there is an unmistakedly feeling of lightness in the air as we head home for the weekend. We all look forward to it. It’s a time when we get to rest and really have some “Me” time.

As I listen to the news, it always makes me wonder about the different thoughts that must going on people’s mind. In France, people are concentrating on the Tour de France as it returns to the small town of Salies de Bearn after 70 years. The Financial world is waiting for the much awaited Stress Test Results of 91 banks in Europe. In the Buddhist world, monks and devotees are preparing for Asarnha Bucha Day to commemorate the day Buddha gave his first sermon. Oil workers capping the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are rushing to beat Bonnie the Tropical Storm. The Governor of the Central Bank of Kosova just got arrested. India displays a prototype like the IPad for only $35.

So many things are happening at the same time all over the world. All equally important in each person’s mind. What is more important than the other?

Importance depends on what you give priority to or where your concerns lie. It all differs for each person. Some may deeply environmentally conscious, while some are more worried about the state of the financial markets and the global economy. Salies de Bearn is focused on making sure the Tour de France is a memorable one. Last time it passed through the town was in 1939.

Things happen, things past by, all equally important. Some things are more important to others. Economics calls it the “utility function.” We all have a different one.

Sometimes we forget though, and think that what we like or consider important is what someone else considers important, but we don’t really. We discover only later. It’s important to really self reflect and know oneself: one’s likes, one’s dislikes, one’s priorities.

Life eventually reveals these things to us. I suppose that’s what living life is all about. Combining all these different experiences, likes and dislikes to eventually form the person we become. Is this the meaning of life? A journey through which we can discover ourselves and throughly understand the meaning of life?