Better a full than a long life

Title

Creator

Roces, Alejandro R.

Language

English

Source

Panorama Volume XIX (No. 12) December 1967

Year

1967

Subject

Conduct of life

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

Quality in one’s life and work is what makes a man valuable and important

Fulltext

■ Quality in one’s life and work is what makes a man valuable and important. BETTER A FULL THAN A LONG LIFE In Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess — I almost wrote Pogi and Bess — the villain, Sporting Sam, in his song “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” says; Methuselah lived one thou sand years Methuselah lived one thou sand years But who calls it living When no gal would give in To a man that’s one thou sand years. Now comes a report from Athens that they have loca ted the oldest women in the world. Her name is Maiathe Nyfli and she is alle gedly 132 years old! “I at tribute my longevity,” she reportedly said, “to the fact that I have never had any affairs with men.” Perhaps, that’s why she refuses to go. She feels cheated. Going by her comment, it is ob vious to any discerning per son what her death wish is. In the ultimate analysis, it is not how long we have lived, but the kind of life that we have led that will be important. It is not the maximum amount of time, but the optimum use of that time. As they say, there is a time to live, a time to love, and a time to die. Ri zal had very little time. But all Filipinos today still feel his presence. Many people today don’t even know what to do with their time. And some people are not buried — but they have been dead for years. There are two kinds of death — physical and spiritual. It is the things that die within us that we have most to fear. Death comes to all — “even for Kings,” as Saint Thomas More said in the trial for his life. In our case, we have never measured time by du ration. We measure it by intensity. Longevity is something to be desired, but it is not an 14 Panorama achievement in itself. There was the man who was ask ed what he did for the French Revolution. “By God,” he said, “I survived!” It is better to live a full life — than a long life. We have people, for instance, who believe that they have had, let us say, 20 years ex perience at a given job, when in reality, it would be more accurate to say that they have had one year’s experience twenty times. Most people never lived. They simply existed. If you live a ripe old age, you must have something more to say than just mere ly attributing your longevity to refraining from tobacco, alcohol, or the opposite sex. Otherwise, people won’t know whether you are brag ging or complaining. We believe that it is the state of mind that keeps most people alive. One must look for ward. And one must keep an interest in all things. It is, of course, easier said than done. — Alejandro R. Roces, Manila Chronicle, December 12, 1967. December 1967 15

pages

14+

Media