LEARN from YESTERDAY, LIVE for TODAY and HOPE for TOMORROW...

by Roy Viorge Garvida
(as published 4 years ago in MVP)

my family

“Life is what you make it so you owe it to yourself to make something out of it.”  I have believed and will always believe in this adage.  Some people believe that they are “cursed” if they are poor while some feel “blessed” or “lucky” if they are rich.  Some even blame everyone for their misfortunes that have happened in their lives, while some are thankful for the people who have helped them in their lives.  Worse even is that some or most people are relying on DESTINY for their lives.

But whichever way you see it, our LIVES are not MADE by OTHERS….but by OURSELVES alone.  It is our own responsibility to make something productive or destructive in our lives.  We either make it or break it.  We should always bear in mind that “DESTINY is not a matter of CHANCE but is a matter of CHOICE.  It is not a matter to be WAITED for but it is a thing to be ACHIEVED.”

Life, as we all know, is complex in itself.  When we are faced with very difficult situations or problems, we either run and hide or face up to it and accept it.  This is called fight or flight response.  This is a paramount defensive mechanism unique to man
and it is in this instance that we learn to ADAPT, COPE and FIGHT for our SURVIVAL in this world.  Survival is man’s primordial instinct.

Life really is full of hardships, trials, failures and turbulences that wreak havoc within us.  If we don’t know how to handle such predicaments, life can be miserable.  But for others they use these trials and failures to inspire and propel themselves to success.  Failure gives them the strength to hope, to work hard, to aim high, to believe in God and to succeed.

People LEARN from their past mistakes and failures…and they move on.  But having said that, others will dwell in the past thinking what went wrong in their lives.  They would rather sit down contemplating what went wrong and would rather feel sorry for themselves than get on with their lives.  I believe that these people are still in state of denial.  Only TIME will tell when they will move on, for time is a healer….but only if they have learned to accept reality.  But it may be too late already.

high school days

Nevertheless, people who have accepted their fate and predicament in life and have learned to move on with their lives, will slowly but surely, be “happy” and “successful” in their own little ways.  Although the life that they have dreamt of might not be as they always wanted to be, but they are thankful for what they have in life however little they can be.  It is CONTENTMENT that keeps them going and alive.  Furthermore, armed with the harsh lessons learned from the past mistakes, they will continue to HOPE for a better future and will strive even harder, never afraid to take risks to achieve their aspirations and goals and dreams they have set forth in their lives…until their success is finally achieved!

So in life, I have learned that we ought to LEARN from yesterday, LIVE for TODAY and HOPE for the BEST TOMORROW.