Don't you think life's like a maze?
I've imagine life's just like a maze. We are like players in this maze. When we were born, healthy and strong, it seems as though we are like new players being inserted via the entrance of this mind boggling maze. As we proceeded inside the maze, the longer we are in it, the more tired we get as we are without food and water to sustain our bodies. However, right smack in the centre of this gigantic maze lies a fountain of water. It flows endlessly with the water of life. Anyone who drinks from it will never thirst again and a living stream will flow within him or her. This fountain is lighted by a huge flame, one that can be seen from miles and miles away. It serves as a guiding light for whoever is within this gigantic maze. Thus, as players in this maze, we need to head towards this burning flame which brings us to this fountain of life.
Every decision we make in life, is like a decision we make within this huge maze. Is it a left turn or a right turn? Each turn spells a new experience around the corner. It could be meeting a new person playing within this maze too. It could be new oppurtunities. It could be new experiences. It could be adversities. It could be sadness waiting to pounce upon you. It could even be meeting the love of your life, one who would continue to walk the rest of the maze with you. He or she could bring you nearer to the fountain of life, or away from it.
In times where we make a wrong turn, are we going to continue going the wrong way, or are we brave enough to stop and move back, starting again from where we last recognised. When adversity pounced upon us, are we just gonna stand there and sob, or are we strong enough to fight it back and move on? Every corner is unknown. We do not know what's in place for us the next turn, the next bend. Only faith and courage ensures that we do not falter and have the heart to press on, knowing that the final goal is the gift of life.
Some people are able to find their way through this messy confusion. In the end, they were accorded worthy of being able to drink from this fountain of life. But many others, lose their determination and focus. They start to wander away from the fountain of life. The burning flame gets furthur and furthur. The many wrong decisions they make in their life, the wasting lifestyle they live. Drinking, lusting, becoming a slave to money and pride. They live a life of debauchery and laziness. In the end, they just die of thirst within this maze, shrivelling and rotting at some unknow dead end.
Some of us might be badly injured while playing in this maze. Our frail hearts were unable to withstand such hardship. Just then, someone comes right next to you. He picks you up and tend to your injuries. He carries you on His back and slowly but surely, brings you into the fountain of life. When you reach the fountain of life, you started drinking from it and your injuries were fully healed. You were overjoyed and you remembered the person who carried you. You wanted to thank Him but He was nowhere to be seen. Just then, you remembered somewhere out there, there was a verse you read before...
..."Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14
Indeed, you were not thirsty again. Fully regenerated, you found the joy of this fountain of life and wanted to bring others to this fountain. It is too good to be missed! With a joyful heart, you head back into the maze, hoping to meet someone in there and bring him or her to the fountain of life. There will be many you'll meet. Some will hate you. They'll hate you because they do not trust you to bring them to the fountain of life. Some will hate you because you found the fountain of life and out of their own pride, refuses your help. However, there are a few that will trust you, because you were true and sincere in your words and in your deeds. Just like how He carried you, you carried the person to the fountain of life. But be careful not to make the wrong turn, or you would carry the person away from the fountain of life and he or she will start losing his or her trust in you. Every decision you decide, every turn you turn, it matters...
Sometimes, you stop and inhaled in deeply. You wandered to yourself, "What is that foul smell?" It was a pungent smell. The smell of death, the smell of rotting corpse. Then, you'll realised, how many of them didn't make it to the fountain of life. You push on, because you know that every second you waste not helping someone, somebody would just collapse in one corner of the maze and they're left there to die.
With so much being said, what kind of player are you?
Never hide your mistakes, because they aren't meant to be hidden. What do you learn from hiding your mistakes? You learn only how to conceal them furthur. You learn only how to push the blame to others.
On the contrary, shed some light onto your own mistakes. Let the world see it. Most importantly, let you yourself see it. Talk about it. Think about it. Reason about it. Understand the lessons learnt and face the music. We move on, feeling better, feeling enriched.
The bravest man is not one who is able to overcome the treacherous mountains and gain glory for himself. The bravest man is not one who is fearless in front of his enemies. The bravest man is not one who is able to topple the fiercest beast on earth. The bravest man, is one who is able to overcome his own mistakes, conquering the person within.
There is no fanciful ideology in this. It is a simple concept. Many a times, it is just a matter of whether we are brave enough to admit it.