According to Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for”. Looking out for that meaning to our existence is one of the many reasons why we live. We were born not just to make mistakes, but to learn from those mistakes that would mold our lives here on earth. It is from those mistakes that we gain experiences that lead us to the answer “What is my purpose in life?” But that isn’t the case for Eddie, an elderly man whose journey goes on once he passes away.
Eddie works in an amusement park named Ruby Pier and has done so for the past 50 years. Every day, he goes to work regardless of how tired he is and does his job watching generation after generation come and go from the park. It is one of the few things keeping him going in his old age. One day while at work on his 83rd birthday, Eddie is involved in a tragic accident trying to fix one of the rides and he is killed. Upon entering heaven Eddie meets five people. Some of them are unknown to him, regardless; they all have had a huge impact on his life without him knowing. Each of the people teaches him an important lesson that many of us in our own lives find difficult to learn. As he meets every person, he realizes what his purpose in life was.
Upon Eddie’s encounter with the first people whom he met in heaven, which is Joseph Corvelzchik or “Blue Man”, I learned that there are no random acts. All lives are interconnected, and fairness does not govern life or death. We must be careful of our own acts as not to portray a negative effect on every person that we encounter. Even though we don’t usually see the effect of our actions to other people, still we must learn to be careful and be wise for we don’t control and we don’t know what might happen to us or to the other. As for the second encounter of Eddie with his captain from the war, he learned that no one dies for nothing and that when you sacrifice something precious, such as a leg, you always gain something. Eddie just doesn't know yet what he has gained. Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. We tend to think twice before holding on to that sacrifice. We fear that we might lose a lot from doing that. But what we don’t actually see is that we gain a lot more than what we usually regret. Sometimes, it’s better not to think of the consequences if it involves the betterment of the others.
Ruby is the third person Eddie encountered in heaven. I learned from his encounter that anger is self-destructive and that we must forgive. I used to carry my anger for a very long time and then asked myself, “Why do I feel a lot burdened?” Then I came to realize that not letting go of that anger makes it more difficult for me to move forward. Carrying that heavy burden would actually cause me more pain. The thing is that I was afraid that if I let go of that anger, I would feel defeated and coward. But, that’s not the point; Anger is just a choice. Being angry is like holding onto a wild flame which would burn you down. Amidst everything, we must choose to be rational and forgive everything. Forgiveness would not just ease your burden, but would greatly cause you a lot more peace of mind and happiness. Knowing that you could forgive, you would understand the reason for every mistake that everyone encounters.
The fourth person that Eddie encounters is his wife, Marguerite. Lost love is still love. It just takes a different form. Although life has to end, love doesn't. Love is all powerful and reaches beyond death. Just like my love for my mother who already passed away. Although I cannot see her, I can still feel that she will eternally love me just like how I love and miss her every day. And the last person whom Eddie encounters is Tala. I’ve learned that we all had purpose in life. His life was not for nothing and that its purpose was to protect all the many children at Ruby Pier through his care for the safety of the rides. Many of us don’t realize it, but I believe that many of us has been doing our real purpose in life without noticing it. We tend to forget and neglect the small things that we do, but it’s actually one of the most important contributions that we have taken part to.
Life always has its hidden truth. Some we find out later on and some may remain to unveiled until death. We got stuck with our past in such a way that we felt like there is really no worth of moving on forward. I have realized that there are so many things that are beyond man’s comprehension. I think God made it to be that way. We cannot understand everything that life has to offer. The only thing that we can do is to deal with it and try to maintain a positive outlook in life. When we feel so miserable in life, when we feel like all of the problems in life are upon us, we must think that there are many other people out there who are much more miserable than us. As the saying goes, think of the blessings that you have instead of those that you don’t have. Try to be more understanding when dealing with other people. And live your life to the fullest cause that’s what we truly deserve.
Eddie works in an amusement park named Ruby Pier and has done so for the past 50 years. Every day, he goes to work regardless of how tired he is and does his job watching generation after generation come and go from the park. It is one of the few things keeping him going in his old age. One day while at work on his 83rd birthday, Eddie is involved in a tragic accident trying to fix one of the rides and he is killed. Upon entering heaven Eddie meets five people. Some of them are unknown to him, regardless; they all have had a huge impact on his life without him knowing. Each of the people teaches him an important lesson that many of us in our own lives find difficult to learn. As he meets every person, he realizes what his purpose in life was.
Upon Eddie’s encounter with the first people whom he met in heaven, which is Joseph Corvelzchik or “Blue Man”, I learned that there are no random acts. All lives are interconnected, and fairness does not govern life or death. We must be careful of our own acts as not to portray a negative effect on every person that we encounter. Even though we don’t usually see the effect of our actions to other people, still we must learn to be careful and be wise for we don’t control and we don’t know what might happen to us or to the other. As for the second encounter of Eddie with his captain from the war, he learned that no one dies for nothing and that when you sacrifice something precious, such as a leg, you always gain something. Eddie just doesn't know yet what he has gained. Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. We tend to think twice before holding on to that sacrifice. We fear that we might lose a lot from doing that. But what we don’t actually see is that we gain a lot more than what we usually regret. Sometimes, it’s better not to think of the consequences if it involves the betterment of the others.
Ruby is the third person Eddie encountered in heaven. I learned from his encounter that anger is self-destructive and that we must forgive. I used to carry my anger for a very long time and then asked myself, “Why do I feel a lot burdened?” Then I came to realize that not letting go of that anger makes it more difficult for me to move forward. Carrying that heavy burden would actually cause me more pain. The thing is that I was afraid that if I let go of that anger, I would feel defeated and coward. But, that’s not the point; Anger is just a choice. Being angry is like holding onto a wild flame which would burn you down. Amidst everything, we must choose to be rational and forgive everything. Forgiveness would not just ease your burden, but would greatly cause you a lot more peace of mind and happiness. Knowing that you could forgive, you would understand the reason for every mistake that everyone encounters.
The fourth person that Eddie encounters is his wife, Marguerite. Lost love is still love. It just takes a different form. Although life has to end, love doesn't. Love is all powerful and reaches beyond death. Just like my love for my mother who already passed away. Although I cannot see her, I can still feel that she will eternally love me just like how I love and miss her every day. And the last person whom Eddie encounters is Tala. I’ve learned that we all had purpose in life. His life was not for nothing and that its purpose was to protect all the many children at Ruby Pier through his care for the safety of the rides. Many of us don’t realize it, but I believe that many of us has been doing our real purpose in life without noticing it. We tend to forget and neglect the small things that we do, but it’s actually one of the most important contributions that we have taken part to.
Life always has its hidden truth. Some we find out later on and some may remain to unveiled until death. We got stuck with our past in such a way that we felt like there is really no worth of moving on forward. I have realized that there are so many things that are beyond man’s comprehension. I think God made it to be that way. We cannot understand everything that life has to offer. The only thing that we can do is to deal with it and try to maintain a positive outlook in life. When we feel so miserable in life, when we feel like all of the problems in life are upon us, we must think that there are many other people out there who are much more miserable than us. As the saying goes, think of the blessings that you have instead of those that you don’t have. Try to be more understanding when dealing with other people. And live your life to the fullest cause that’s what we truly deserve.
