There are some situations in life that are easily etched in your memory.
This inscription on a tombstone is definitely one of them. It’s those moments when we take stock and reassess our own lives. This also happened to one man who went to lay a flower in a cemetery, as many of us do. But on the way, he noticed a headstone that caught his attention.
That moment that will change your life
The man stepped closer to get a good look at him. He began to read and slowly became aware of the incredible truth that was carved in the stone. Tears made it difficult for him to read to the end, but he did.
The opening words were, “If you are in this garden, look at this tomb. Be mindful of what you read.” The opening sentences already indicate that the following lines will be something to remember. So what exactly was written here?
“Pilgrim! What you are now, I once was. And what I am now, one day you will be.” It’s already giving me the willies at this point, isn’t it? It’s a harsh truth we can rarely admit. Or maybe we don’t want to admit it at all.
However, the text does not end there and continues with the following words. “In this world everything is worldly. Rich and beggar, all are mortal. Every one of us, all of us, will end up in this place. Do the best you can with your life, do what you can do in your life, because only your works go to heaven.”
The lesson? Let us learn to perceive the true values in life
Definitely worth thinking about, don’t you think? Many of us, perhaps most of us, pursue material and ultimately foolish things in life. Maybe it’s worth stopping every now and then and realising what really matters in life.
For it is not only how we ourselves are that matters, all that will pass away, but also what we leave behind in this world. For our flesh will one day turn to dust, but our works, our deeds, they may endure forever.
