But to live is not just struggling to survive but also hoping until finding a definite purpose of existence. When people stops hoping, the exact reason why they are here for will vanish and will let them become ordinary animals.
Life is all about living, not existence. Life is not just about working until you die, but it is working for you to grow and to find the real meaning of your life. To live allows you to grow while to exist allows you to maintain your present state without any changes whatsoever. Life therefore is an unending growth of man to fulfill his ultimate desire- his mission, his contribution to humanity, his purpose. Life is quest of searching and hoping to find the absolute reason of existence.
I remember back when I was in Grade V. I watched a movie entitled Simon Birch. Simon Birch is a film about a very small person; who has a lot of faith and self-confidence in spite of the fact that he is physically "different", he has little family support and he has health problems. What I liked most about the film is that it has many charming features and the quality is so impressive because it has delicate balance between comedy and tragedy. Strolling ahead on a tight rope, with abyss on either side - that of despair and that of burlesque - and never falling.
Simon is a boy with such a severe physical handicap, and with terrible parents. Even though he is really as close to being a dwarf, he never loses hope that God has a reason for everything. He believes that God has allotted him something and that is why He made him different from any other normal beings. Simon suffered being degraded by his friends yet he never pitied himself because of his belief. That belief was fulfilled at the end of the story when his height has led him to save a lot of people who are inside a bus sinking in the water. If we would analyze carefully, he has achieved his purpose and that purpose is to save people. God therefore made him small because he is the only one who could fit inside the small window in the bus.
Just like Simon, each one of us is here for something. We are here not just to add to the growing population of the Philippines. We are here for something big, something that is hidden within ourselves, something that has a positive impact on other people's lives and something that may be a part of our destiny.
We are all here to fulfill a purpose. We continuously exist because we are about to make an act in the future that will create our identity. Probably, we are about to make a heroic act of saving planet earth from alien invasion. Or maybe, we will be a known leader bound to create new changes in the welfare of mankind. Or perhaps, we are about to invent an antidote against any kind of human disease. All these things may happen sooner or later. But, no matter how big, or small such act may be, for as long as it was able to move other people, then it can be considered an act worth recognition. That may even be your purpose. Thus, your purpose may even lead you to fame and honor, just like Louise Braille, Leonardo DaVinci, and Albert Einstein.
What exactly is the reason why I exist? They are as follows:
I exist because I choose to exist.
I exist because I want to exist. Life is full of ups and downs, of hard and easy obstacles, and of an unending meeting of friends. These things make life worth living. The happiness and sad moments in life are the things that make it enjoyable to live.
To exist is a choice. Some may choose to live, and others may choose to kill themselves. In my 18 years of living here on earth, I never thought of committing suicide. No matter how hard a problem may be, I still find time to enjoy life and to live it with smile on my face. I always think positive and no matter how dark things may seem, I am still able to look for a little light that would cheer me up. Perhaps this is the reason why most people envy me. They are so emotional most of the times. They easily react on their problems. They even seem to empathize and sympathize with the problems of other people. I am not saying that I am tougher than them. Feeling sad, crying, and feeling weak clearly doesn't serve as a standard for identifying a person to be weak or not. I am saying that there is more to life than just being sad. Everyone should enjoy life. The only thing that they should have is a positive outlook. Things may seem hard and severe but for as long as you have that certain belief that things will be okay sooner or later, then you are on your way towards living a joyful life.
I exist because I need to exist.
Several persons are counting on me. They may not explicitly tell me, but I can see in them that they need me. My family wants me to live for my dreams and also for their dreams for me. They want me to succeed in life and to ensure a financially stable lifestyle in the future. That is why they are continuously reminding me to study and work for my future. I can feel their love with their acts of motivating me. And in return, I want to prove to them that their support, both emotionally and financially, is worth doing. I need to exist to live that dream and to become a successful individual.
I also need to exist because I am valuing my friends. They are special to me and I don't want them to lose such a wonderful friend like me. Probably, if I would die at this very moment, then, my tropa would no longer find hilarious person like me as a replacement. I am a unique individual and I wanted to show the world how unique I am.
I also value the fulfillment of promises and obligations. I need to exist because I sill have to settle obligations that I have committed. I am still under a contract with Ateneo de Naga University to be an Honor's Program Student. The program has challenged me to be a person I am right now. And I don't want to end it by just committing suicide. I want to graduate cum laude and to prove to the world especially to some people who doubted my capabilities that I am worth the scholarship.
I exist because of my belief that there is something meant for me.
Just like Simon, I believe that there is something ahead of me that is specially meant for me. I see myself as a really successful businessman. I wanted to live because I wanted to see if that dream is tenable. It's exciting to think of the future because it's always positive. I wanted to test whether my actual future is also positive. Some say that when you dream, aim high because as of now, the only thing free in this world is dreaming.
God has given each one of us gifts to fulfill something we are bound to fulfill. We should always accept that gift/s and use it to fulfill our destiny. Let us all accept it with all our heart just like Simon Birch who was able to accept his physical incapacities even if his friends are teasing him. It is because just like Simon we might be flabbergasted to see that our abnormalities that have lead us to save those who treated us bad.
I exist because of my loved ones.
I exist because I want to be with my loved ones. I wanted to share my happiness with them. I wanted to bring back the love they have brought me. I wanted to tell them how much I love them over and over again. I wanted to let them feel my love through proving to them that their sacrifices for me are not waste of time.
I can say that I have done a lot of considerable things in the past and I am still about to do more in the future. Let me first assess myself in as far as my experiences and beliefs are concerned.
Past
I have done so many things in the past. Some may be considered good, and some are absolutely bad. But, those things that I have done marked my identity and my identity is my proof that I was able to make something in my 18 years of stay here on earth.
If I die right now (probably because this computer explodes in front of me) and in heaven, San Pedro asks me, What have you done in your life?, I would answer him with conviction that I was able to share my love to others, learn the meaning of being loved, and influence others towards good.
If I did not exist, there won't be Mike in this world. No one had helped my friends in their problems, my sister in her assignments, my city, Naga City, in some of its pro-poor programs (I was a City youth official), some beggars whom I have given some of my coins with, the people not believing in God who I have persuaded to go back to the church, and even the askal dog I have kept, saving him from hunger and cruelty of some resident tambays in Brgy. Conception Pequena.. If I did not exist, the biggest impact to the world is that its population might even been reduced by one. I am not a person able to make a really large thing. I wasn't able to resolve the problem of poverty in the world, AIDS in Africa, and corruption in the Philippines. But I was able to implement a little change. Probably not even a single percent done by Einstein, but that small change was able to touch persons I knew. That for me is an accomplishment.
Present
As of now, I am in a state where I face a lot of obstacles. But in every obstacle that I face for me is a challenge, a challenge for me to grow and an opportunity for me to help others.
In growing, I will be able to stretch myself to my limits and I am able to learn new things. I am still hoping that someday I will contribute something in the field of science that will bring me fame and honor. My biggest dream is to be famous, and even though there comes a time that I am already dead, people would still know the name Mike Arevalo as one of the persons in history who was able to implement changes. I want to be recognized in the history, for my life to be published on books, and for me to be retained in the hearts of a lot of people.
I remember when I was in first year high school. I had a dream of inventing a new device that will help me transport faster from different places. I liked to call it the rocket shoes. It came from a wild idea, though until now, I still believe its possible. I'd say it's not as crazy as some of my classmates' work, solar-powered street lights and vibrating briefs. My dream is to innovate shoes and adding to it a mini-high powered, rechargeable engine. At the age of 12, I was preparing blue print of its design including its internal setup. I even researched on the piston of a car, considering it to be a pattern on how it works. My dream was to see people travel using their rocket shoes, and then they would just manipulate the remote to control it. I wanted to see people up in the sky flying, not with wings but with a fire blowing under their shoes. I really don't know why I want to invent such thing, but probably, unconsciously, I want people to fly rather than use their bikes. (Trivia: I don't know how to ride a bike)
Someday, I may fulfill my childhood dream. Or maybe, I will invent or discover another thing. Who knows? I may even be more famous than Harry Potter.
I believe that God wants his creation to do things that he wants them to do. His gifts should be nurtured. By nurturing his skills, one is preparing for his biggest act- his ultimate purpose.
I am blessed with the skill in painting and drawing. I have won a lot of poster making, painting and sketching contests. I cultivate my skill by practicing, attending workshops, and by using it to help others. I believe that there's always a reason for everything. I am blessed with such skill because I'll be using it in the future to do something big and that would be my purpose. Probably, I can draw because I'm about to draw the real picture of poverty in the Philippines and thus, it will awaken the politicians and government officials in the country to focus on the severe case of poverty. Probably, it will be a reason for the country to prosper and develop together with its neighboring countries.
Future
As I was telling, every individual's future remains uncertain. It's not good to rely on the fate or destiny because achieving a nice future requires hard work, patience, practicality and love or passion for what you are doing.
Just like an ordinary human being my future is never fixed. One false move and I might unintentionally ruin everything. I might lose everything that I have done for the fulfillment of my dream of having a desirable future. Perhaps, one day a supernatural force may come along the way and be the reason for the breakdown of the foundation of a better future. No one really knows. But the only thing that remains certain is that people should never stop hoping. Once the hoping stops, people would then work under an everyday routine of working. Its like his life has already ended. No one can therefore say that he is fulfilled because human beings are naturally creatures with unending desires.
For instance, a man who has worked for 70 years and was able to finance the education of his 8 children until they all finish college, really couldn't say that he is all satisfied. There would always be a part of his heart that craves and that pushes him to want more. Satisfaction for human beings cannot be achieved. Just as ultimate happiness remains hard to attain for mankind. Give a teenager a new cellular phone and he'll be happy for a week. But for the succeeding weeks, his happiness would then fade and he may even want a new one, a new iPod, a portable vcd player, etc.
My beliefs¦
1. Everything happens for a reason. Our existence is because of a reason. There would always be a connection with every act that we make and the effects it brings. With this, the occurrence of thing and of a situation is explainable.
I was named Michael because of certain reason. Dad was telling me that his life was once endangered after he touched an electric wire. Most people say its fatal for anyone wet to be electrified. Dad survived the electric shock because of his belief that his amulet of St. Michael has saved him. From then on, he would always pray for the saint and named me after St. Michael.
Maybe it's my fate to be named by such. Perhaps I was able to acquire some traits of St. Michael, which I will use to help others. No one really knows.
2. I am bound to do something. In my parents first 3 years as husband and wife, they never had a baby. For three long years, they kept on praying for God to let them have even just one healthy, and good-looking baby. Then, after series of novenas, and dancing in for a certain saint for them to have a baby, a miracle happened. There was I.
I believe that God gave me to my parents because I am somehow a completely wrapped gift for my very religious parents. I may have even inherited their religiousness. And thus, I am about to use that religiousness to bring back to God those who no longer believe in Him. I am not saying that I am hearing God's calling and I am soon becoming a priest. It's just that as Gods gift to my parents, I am about to make good things for my parents to be happy. For after all, touching other people's lives doesn't really hinder you or encloses you for that certain act. There are still a lot of responsibilities that you have to take.
Answering why do I exist is perhaps one of the most difficult questions I ever answered. It takes a lot of philosophical reflection and sharing out of experiences. The task of providing this paper may be really hard. Though, I would like to say that I truly enjoyed doing this.
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