| A Second Life |
|---|
| — This Is Your Last Chance — |
To those of you who are about to begin your second life,
or to those who have already started walking that path,
there is something I would like you to think about now, precisely because you are at this stage of life.
No — it is because you now have a little more time, and because you are beginning to look ahead and reflect positively on how you wish to live from here on, that I especially want you to consider the following questions.
Why were you born?
What thoughts and beliefs have guided your life until now?
And from this point onward, what thoughts will guide the way you live?
I believe that each of you has arrived at this moment through many different life experiences.
At every stage, you have thought about many things, struggled with many things, and continued living your life in your own way.
But have you ever truly asked yourself why you were born in the first place?
Why do we live, and why do we die?
What is the true meaning of one's life?
What is happiness, and what does it mean to live happily?
Have you ever stopped and reflected deeply on such questions?
Probably not.
When we are young, life rarely allows us the time to stop.
We keep pushing forward, always ahead, always striving toward something.
Perhaps that itself is one of the privileges of youth.
Because we are young, we can take risks.
And many people probably feel that the person they are today exists precisely because they worked so hard, sometimes recklessly, through those younger years.
Examinations, employment, work, marriage, raising children, caring for parents — through the many turning points of life, time passes in a constant rush, centered mainly on the practical task of simply continuing to live.
Within that flow of life, there must have been many painful, difficult, and sorrowful moments.
Of course, there were also joys.
There were moments of happiness, moments of excitement, and moments of fulfillment.
And perhaps you believed that this was simply what life is.
Even amid all the ups and downs, you may have thought that if you found purpose and meaning in your work and daily life, and fulfilled your role as best you could, then even an ordinary life could be called a good life.
But is that truly so?
In fact, it is precisely those assumptions and feelings that I would like to invite you to reexamine during whatever time remains in your life.
Those who have reached retirement, or those whose children have grown independent and who now find themselves with more personal freedom, may finally be able to pause and take a breath.
And at such a moment, I would like you to ask yourself this question:
Have I truly done what I was meant to do in this life?
You have devoted your body, your heart, your time, and your energy to work and family throughout your life.
That is exactly why I want you, from this point forward, to think more deeply about your own life itself.
Not to see your life merely through your work or your family,
but to begin seeing your life within yourself.
If the time called your "second life" is now beginning, then I hope you will use that time — this time — truly for yourself.