When we were still a child, we believed that everything is possible. We thought that the world is generous and kind. We thought that we can get anything we desire. We were so persistent to get something and curious to know almost about anything. Possibility is easy as it is a reality. Indeed, it was our world.
It “was” our world because it seems like it happened long ago, maybe 10 or 15 or 25 or 35 or 50 years ago. Or, we we there a very long time ago. Minus our social status right now, we all have our share of this kind of childhood. We simply thought things will work out the way we want them.
But something in between then and now happened to us. We started to learn more about the world and the failures of people living in it. We started to learn more about what many people can’t do or shouldn’t do. We were told to stop when we are to do something that we love mostly because it never worked before. We were cautioned and we were threatened.
Suddenly, what was once a courageous, persistent, and curious creation became the opposite of what he was.
And so now, he’s afraid, disappointed, and all-knowing. It seems like he already stopped believing in himself and in what he can do. Every new battle is lost even before it get started. Failure has become more real than it is mental. We no longer believe in our dream and we no longer patronize our own capacity to create something that was never created before.
In other words, we surrender before the fight. Well, who can blame us for doing that? The world seemed to agree anyway. Many people told us that we’re just wasting time and so it goes. We listened very carefully until everything that was told to us became our very own reality.
The world isn’t as bad as we think it is. It’s not as bad as what many people told us it is. It’s not as bad as what we see on our television set during primetime. It’s not as bad as what the newspapers write in its headline. There are negative news but they are not everything.
I think the world is two-sided. It’s subjective. We can only see its breathtaking beauty when we find the beauty inside us. We can see its worst when we find the worst in us. To those who honor God’s most amazing creation, the world is wonderful. To those who simply wander around, the world isn’t something to care about.
But really, the world isn’t only about what we see. It’s also about what we feel. It’s about what we breathe, what we smell, what we taste. It’s about what works rather than what doesn’t. It’s about possibility rather than skepticism. It’s about belief rather than doubt.
The world is our classroom. We learn in here. We play in here. We discover something in here. We trust one another in here. We listen to our teacher in here. We take exams in here. We chat with our friends in here. We meet new classmates in here. We develop our feelings in here. We create miracles in here. This world is a very big classroom. And we are nothing but students of this world.
And just like a typical classroom, most people only wanted to comply because education seems to be a requirement. Instead of learning, many simply want to pass. Just in a common classroom setup, many wanted to simply let the day pass. They don’t really care about the classroom and what happens inside. For many, it’s simply a small room where they fulfill their class requirements.
But the world is our classroom. Sooner or later, we will graduate from here. When everything is done and over, how would you like to be remembered?
