Last weekend by destiny sitting on a random pile in a public library, a children's book fell into my hands that though I couldn't fully understand because it was in Chinese, I was compelled to take photos of each page knowing it offered a way through philosophical conundrums that have been troubling me. Written by Oscar Brenefier and illustrated by Jacques Despres, the book is originally in French (Le Sens de la Vie) and has been translated into twenty languages except in English which is quite perplexing.
I don't want to run into copyright issues putting this out in my blog, but this translation is just for fun and for cathartic purposes. Also remember that this is a translation of a translation so you can imagine what must have gotten lost on the convoluted way to English from French to Chinese. Hopefully, there'd be readers adept at both languages who can help smoothen it out further. Despite the imperfections, it's still an eye-opening, sleep-depriving exercise.
The Meaning of Life
But others believe that exerting too much effort is a waste of life and work is entirely a waste of time.
But others
believe that the meaning of life is to live for oneself and that other people
disturb and bother one’s life.
Some people believe that life is so precious so
we must do everything possible to live a good life.
It’s a spectrum of beliefs about the meaning of life
disguised in a children’s book that’s attractive to adults as well. Indeed, it’s the author’s passionate advocacy
to bring philosophy to children and adults.
It made me think where I stood in the spectrum of opposing beliefs. While I would stand firmly on some ends,
there were others where I vacillated between poles, creating tension and
confusion. Then there are beliefs
held by people close to me that are completely different from mine which are sources of conflict and pain. This book
reminds me that it shouldn’t because it’s just a variation in perception and
thinking that one ought to respect, no matter how inconvenient.
What if you believe in being busy, exerting effort and doing
many things but you live with somebody who has a much more relaxed stance,
who could watch tv all day and simply enjoy life without effort? What if you thought money wasn’t important
before but then everything changed when you became a parent and you realize you
have a lot of catching up to do to be able to support your child
responsibly? What if you’d like to be
happy and satisfied with what you have but you'd also like to be in constant pursuit of something that keeps evolving in front of you? What if you lived
your life before believing you didn’t need others only to realize that this concept
was borne of hurt and you want to live for others instead? What if you want to strive to attain your crazy,
seemingly unreachable dreams but it seems too late in the game so why not
just surrender and calmly go through life, tranquil and content? What if those dreams gnaw at the back
of your mind but there are practical realities to think of?
All those questions bugged me through the night after
translating that darned kiddie book.
Darn! The book doesn’t have the
answers, only more questions for me to burn.
