Youth is a very special time in our lives, for it is a time when we can look after ourselves but have few obligations. Consequently, we have some freedom and flexibility of thought and action. Because the future is open, we feel free to do as we like. However, sooner or later we all acquire responsibilities that restrict our freedom. The important thing is to use this opportunity in a way that we will not later regret.
When young people are asked about their future, very few think of saying simply “I want to be happy,” But isn’t it true, aren’t all our plans based on a fundamental wish for happiness and contentment? However differently we may express it, as living beings what we all have in common is a wish from the very core of our being to be happy. Therefore, I believe it is worth thinking about how we can achieve this.
Most of the young people I meet have fresh minds and are full of enthusiasm. But this enthusiasm needs to be tempered with patience, because things do not work out easily. When you are trying to implement your ideas, you are bound to face some obstacles. If that happens, rather than lose determination, you need to be more patient. Then, in addition to determination and self-confidence, in our modern society I think we need to pay more attention to approaching things in a more holistic way. You may know what your goal is, but adopting a narrow view of how to achieve it, won’t help. You need to be more holistic, because in reality everything is dependent on other factors and you need to take them into account.
For example, it is because of the profound interdependence we all share with one another as human beings that we all need love. However capable and skilful an individual may be, left alone, he or she will not survive. However vigorous and independent we may feel during the most prosperous periods of life, when we are sick, or very young, or very old, we must depend on the support of others.
Therefore, I appeal to those of you attending the YOTA youth conference, focusing on motivation, confidence and career development to keep in mind that we humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others. Nor is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic actions bring about happiness, but they also lesson our experience of suffering.
No doubt you all aspire to find good health, friends, freedom, and a degree of prosperity in your lives, admirable aims that I hope you achieve. But as you pursue them try to remember that because out every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others’ happiness, it is important to consider what we do carefully to ensure that we do not harm others.
October 5, 2006
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