ZenView: Rewards of Being Human
By Mary Layton
What are the rewards in your life? Many of us may feel that as long as we have fun and excitement in our lives everything will be good. Having fun is such a welcome reward for putting up with life’s challenges and disappointments. We need to have fun. But sometimes too much of a good thing can also get us off the good path. The fun lovers will most likely argue that it’s the way of the world and not to worry about it. Yet there is the possibility that following what seems fun and exciting too much of the time can eventually backfire and hurt us in some way. I believe many of us go through life believing “this is just as good as it gets”. But I think this can be a trap because if you want to find the best in life which I think is Love – then there’s a lot of work to be done. It’s about finding out who you really are. How you really want to live your life. What you want your relationships to be like.
What is holding you back? I think this kind of honest search for oneself is rewarding. Growing older also has rewards as I can learn so much from my mistakes and free myself from my illusions. The famous Italian story of Pinocchio is a wonderful description of what the journey of growing into a good human being can be all about. The story has been made into a very beautiful movie. Of all the different adaptations I love the one directed by Matteo Garrone the best. The movie is about a wooden puppet that is rebellious and succumbs to all kinds of temptations. His father who created him out of a tree trunk is unable to guide him. Because of his many lies, Pinocchio gets into more and more trouble. Things look dark and hopeless. But eventually, it is Pinocchio’s ability to love and connect to love that ultimately ends his suffering. He is rewarded for his understanding of what truly matters in the end. The loving fairy transforms him: Instead of only a puppet he now deserves to be a boy, a real human being. Going through life’s trials and tribulations we can learn to become the humans we were meant to be.
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