On life (145) -”Loss and Reward” – 21/10/2016

   It was not the first time for him to sit on that chair, staring at the horizon and contemplating his life: its problems, choices, sad or happy memories. He remembered his friend who shared him both the sad and happy moments of his life, then he closed his eyes, smiled, and said to himself, “We are still the same; we are friends who share life’s sadness and happiness.” He decided not to let his friend down ever, for he has trusted him. Rarely does one find such precious gems who he calls “friends”.
Both loss and reward are challenges. During one’s lifetime, one would evaluate his success or failure according to what he gains or loses. Loss and reward influence man’s life in many ways.
   First, loss and reward do not have to do with the material aspects of life only, but with life as a whole. It is not wrong to be keen on reward, or what you believe to be a reward: for in the end the value of your life is measured according to your choices. But what about the concept of loss and reward? How can we measure loss and reward?
   There are no fixed rules for determining people’s losses and rewards. Yet, man’s goals can be the standards he uses to assess his losses and rewards. Whatever makes man achieve his goals is a reward, and the opposite is true. Yet, goals vary according to people’s dispositions. Likewise, their views and decisions regarding what is deemed beneficial also vary. For instance, if a person wants to win a championship in a certain sport, he might dispense with some tasty food which affects his fitness negatively. Even more, he might forfeit part of his social life in order to get enough training and raise his athletic level. On the other hand, he acquires the factors that help him win the championship.
   This is how life goes on. Some people prefer psychological rest to anything else, believing they would lose anything to win peace of mind, rather than sacrifice peace of mind for the sake of anything else. Others think that true loss is that of the self or faithful people just to win others’ favor.
   So, beware that your goals determine your behavior and stance toward life and people. If you do not have goals, then… we shall continue.

General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center