This I Believe, Essay Example

We often take things for granted and see ourselves as the center of the world. When life is good to us, we develop the belief that nothing bad can ever happen to us. I also had this feeling of being invulnerable because growing up I rarely experienced sadness or pain. I had the best friends in the world and the most wonderful family. Life could not have more perfect until the day I lost my mother. My mother’s death not only shattered my feeling of invulnerability but taught me more about life in moments than what I had learnt in years.

I believe death is what makes life beautiful. We don’t appreciate things in life that are abundant as much as we do those that are rare. We all have temporary lives which is why we should value every single second we live and make something out of life. If we all were to live forever, we would have no legacy to leave for the future generations and we would have no sense of urgency to improve the world. My mom always tried to guide me but I didn’t pay attention to many of her words until she was gone. After her death, I didn’t have the security web her presence created around me. Now I realize she had always wanted me to be a person who could go out and make a name for herself in the world through her own strength. All this time, she had been preparing me for a life without her.

Death is also a nature’s way of replacing older generations with new generations and speed up the pace of progress. Each generation usually surpasses the previous generation because their forefathers have already laid the foundations for them to build upon. This is why the pace of progress continues to increase with each subsequent generation. The progress doesn’t occur only in terms of technology but also ideals and values. Each generation has its biases which impede progress of human civilization to some extent and death ensures that older generations are replaced by newer generations who can tackle those traditional stereotypes to build a better future.

I believe death is one of the best motivators in life. My mom always believed in service to others and was an active participant in the community’s volunteer programs. She would often claim she wants to live a life that would continue to inspire future generations long after she is gone. She would explain that a life’s true worth is mostly known after death because our deeds have longer impact on the world than our lives. She would give me examples of many renaissance artists and literary giants who were not appreciated in their own lives but now they stand tall in history.

I believe death also makes human relationships beautiful. When we know we are not going to be with each other forever, we want to give more love and care to people in our lives. The thought of death motivates us to do more for our families, friends, and the community just like someone on a tight project deadline realizes he has no choice but to achieve more tasks in a short period of time. Death reminds us that every day brings us closer to end of life and we cannot afford to relax.

The reality of death also improves societies because the society realizes life is short and only given once, thus, everyone deserves to spend his/her life with access to basic human rights. The presence of death also makes us more compassionate and it is not surprising that we often open our hearts to those dealing with life-threatening issues anywhere in the world. When my mom died, it made me better understand the pain of others who lose loved ones or go through life-threatening circumstances.

I also believe death is an exam for us. It is to determine our respective value in the world through our actions and ideas. Life tests us on our ability to realize our true potential and to use it for both our own as well as others’ benefits. This test is unique in the sense that we continue to be evaluated on our performance long after we have gone. But we do have a choice to choose our own goals in life. Death reminds us that we only have so much time to act on our goals, hence, it forces us to be efficient.

I also believe that we do not truly find out who we are until we approach the moment of death. We truly reflect upon our lives only when we realize we are near the end of our lives. This may be why older people among us are usually the wise ones because they have the courage to objectively evaluate their own lives and hope that their life will have valuable lessons for the younger generations.

I wish my mom was still here but I take comfort in the fact that even in death she continues to inspire me and many other people I know. She may not be breathing among us but she still lives in our memories. Her second life doesn’t involve death but that’s her reward for the noble deeds she did in her temporary life.