Much To Live for

A student handed in an essay "Why Living?" today.  A philosophical question.  I remember about seven years ago, Hung-ren, a student then studying at National Tsing Hua University, asked me the same question when visiting me.  He was inspired by a professor of the university Ming-hui Peng (彭明輝教授).  I told him I'd never thought about the question.  He answered that a happy person like me would never wonder why he/she lived. 

Today, the student's essay topic reminded me of a poem I taught many years ago, "Much To Live for." 

MUCH TO LIVE FOR

 

There is so much I have not been,

So much I have not seen.

I have not thought and have not done

or felt enough—the early sun,

rain and the seasonal delight

of flocks of ducks and geese in flight,

the mysteries of late-at-night.

 

I will need time to read a book,

write poems, paint a picture, look

at scenes and faces dear to me.

There is something more to be

of value—something I should find

within myself—as peace of mind,

patience, grace and being kind.

 

I shall take and I shall give,

while yet, there is so much to live

for—rainbows, stars that gleam,

the fields, the hills, the hope, the dreams,

the truth that one must seek.  I’ll stay

here—treasure every day

and love the world in my own way!

 

--Adapted from Moments to Treasure